Familiar Taste of Poison: A Musical
by Nibzo
Summary: First chapter in honor of AkuRoku Day.  On Roxas's 18th birthday, he meets up with a mysterious redhead that sends his life into a spiral of doubt and life-changing events.  A musical to Halestorm's debut album.  AkuRoku, rated M for content and language.
1. AI, S1: Innocence

**Happy AkuRoku Day! Hello happy people of Fanfiction Dot Net! This is part of my little present to you! Not a one-shot songfic! This is...a musical!**

**It's all explained in the disclaimer. Sorry for the rushed note, but right now my laptop has about five minutes on it and I gotta jet! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, and I do not own any songs appearing in this fanfiction, as they belong to the respective members of Halestorm. I just thought it'd be kind of interesting to combine an artist with something and make a musical. Like how Across the Universe has the Beatles and Mamma Mia! has ABBA. **

**So here is the deal. Bold with little lines following it=My own little author notes. Bold with quotation marks=Singing. Italics with quotation marks=character thoughts. Italics without quotation marks=dreams or other subconscious activity. Now that you know, we can begin.-**

The music pumped through the air, a strong steady beat protruding everyone's senses in the club as the sweaty bodies shifted against each other, the rhythm of the atmosphere putting anyone in a cheerful mood. Hips swung in unison as at a separate table shots were downed with incredible speed, the small crowd gathering around the blonde cheering him on to keep on going.

Roxas Saitama, the young blonde at the center chugging each shot, was finally beginning to feel a bit woozy, the effects of the alcohol overpowering his senses and throwing all common logic out the window. The room spun as the funny colors blurred together, creating the magical feeling that he was being swallowed by a rainbow. He raised another small glass to his lips and downed his 18th shot before slumping over in a drunken stupor.

"C'mon, Rox, quit faking it," another blonde, his friend Hayner echoed. "It's not even that strong."

"Leave him alone, Hayner," his brother, Sora said, stepping in to defend his younger sibling. "He's not much of a drinker, of course he's going to feel a little queasy."

But with that queasy feeling, Roxas felt a sense of renewal; of being alive. He wanted to get up and join the rest of the crowd in their intimate dancing, couples grinding together to the beat of the music that the dj was spinning from his turn-tables.

After all, he had just turned 18. He wasn't going to let being a little bit tipsy get in his way. Sure, his guard was down and his sense of judgment not as great as it had been coming into the club, but what was the point of having birthdays and celebrating them if he wasn't going to have some fun and get a little wasted?

So he stumbled to the dance floor, smirking at his other friends who had gathered in the club with him for this special celebration. "I feel fine," he somewhat slurred, trying to control his shaky legs and tell them to walk straight forward. "Really, guys, loosen up a little. It's party time!"

Hayner smiled. "That's more like it!" he said, jumping up and following his friend to the dance floor. "C'mon guys, Rox is right. Let's party!"

One by one, the members of the small group got up, letting go of any reservations they had about the mysterious dance floor. As their feet hit the linoleum they joined the other people in the club, dancing to the pounding beat and the steady rhythm that had most smiling despite their sweat-covered faces.

One who took a personal liking to the blonde from afar was a spiky redhead with green eyes resembling the deadliest poison, triangles under those neon green eyes. From the moment he stepped outside of the employees only section his eyes gravitated to the younger male, watching his supple, lithe body sway back and forth. How dreadful that a specimen that beautiful was out there dancing by himself.

So naturally, the redhead approached him, the beat almost perfectly in time with his steps, eyeing up his prey like an animal on the prowl. As he got closer he could see a few more features of the blonde more clearly; his interesting attire consisting of a black vest, white short-sleeved overcoat and a pair of black and tan baggy pants, which he was sure he'd fit into as well with quite ease.

Roxas wasn't even facing this stranger as he rocked his body to the music, closing his eyes and feeling it pound inside his very soul. He didn't even hear the redhead cough behind him, and only turned around when he was poked on the shoulder and was asked, "Wanna dance?"

His eyes opened, and Axel felt his mouth grow dry, swallowing hard. Those had to be the most tantalizing blue eyes he had ever seen. They carried the same feeling as if he were staring into a cloudless sky on a sunny day. He was mesmerized by them, feeling as if he really were looking into the heavens as he lay on his back in the soft green grass.

He was so caught up in them he didn't even hear the blonde respond. And Roxas, in turn, was a little to tipsy to even think of refusing the older than, his green eyes instilling the same feeling of staring into the essence of something beautiful. But with the serenity they brought he also felt another element that was far more dangerous, his green hues reminding him of the most toxic of acids; a deadly poison that would drip through your veins and corrupt your very core.

"Of course," he giggled, not paying attention to the way Axel was staring at him. Axel, lost in thought, didn't hear him until he felt that sweet, sexy body only inches from him, dancing so dangerously close that he feared this angel would fade away if he responded by drawing him closer.

But no, this couldn't be an angel. Sure, their grinding was a bit sloppy and his looked innocent enough, but there was no way this blonde, who seemed so skilled in the art of seduction was as angelic as he let on.

"I'm Roxas," he said, taking the initiative to draw even closer to the redhead on his own. Their bodies now touching, hips moving together sensually, their groins slightly touching as the redhead suppressed a groan in the back of his throat. "Axel."

"Nice to meet you," Roxas responded, adding in a thrust of the hips so that their crotches collided in a most forceful way. Axel bit his tongue as swallowed again, only opening his eyes when he was sure that he wouldn't react in such a perverse manner that might scare off the blonde. Their eyes met again, and this time Axel could see the slightest hints of alcohol clouding his vision.

But he immediately ignored it and focused on something else. He realized from before how easy it was to get lost in those eyes, and was so afraid of being left in that defenseless stage again. He was, after all, a master in the art of seduction himself, so why was he feeling this way to yet another easy lay?

Roxas was so caught up in his dance partner that he hardly noticed his friends picking up their things to leave, the party officially over. He did catch out of the corner of his eye his brother throwing him a worried glance, to which he mouthed back that he'd be okay and see him later. The brunette just nodded in response and, with the rest of the party, proceeded in a line outside of the nightclub.

Somewhere in their grinding things were getting out of control. Once the others had left they had immediately picked up the pace, Roxas changing positions so that his back was to the redhead, grinding his taut ass into his partner's hips, repeating the motion over and over again. Axel wasn't afraid now to let out a few guttural moans, feeling his pants growing a bit too tight. And while he thought the blonde would be afraid of his carnal reactions, it only proceeded in egging him on more as he ground harder and harder.

Instinctively, he took the blonde's hand and pulled him off the dance floor, feeling his erection grow even harder as he felt the boy's soft skin against his own. He couldn't take this anymore. The lust and need for release was almost too much, and he knew that if something didn't happen soon he would lose all control. He wanted to get this done and over with, since what scared him more than his animalistic needs was the heavy beating of his own heart.

And Roxas could feel it too. He had no idea where it was Axel was taking him, but he sure as hell didn't seem to care in the slightest. His erection was begging for release as well, his hard-on obvious through his rather baggy pants, an embarrassing fashion faux-pas that only he seemed to care about. The other dancers didn't seem to notice, and if Axel had it sure as hell wasn't bothering him.

As soon as the two had gotten out of the sight of the general public Roxas felt himself roughly shoved against a wall, a pair of lips suddenly colliding with his in a very forceful manner. He only moaned in response, his arms wrapping around Axel's neck as he tried to push himself as close to the older man as he could. The friction between their two bodies was so deliciously perfect, and he let out a long moan, the redhead seizing the moment and slipping his tongue inside the blonde's mouth.

There were no gentle touches, as the only thing the two could see was the rough, burning passion circulating through the veins as their tongues danced inside the blonde's mouth. Roxas's hands instantly found their way into his spiky red hair, his fingers massaging the scalp as he let himself get lost in this stranger's kiss. A particular violent thrust send Roxas into a whole other realm of pleasure, breaking the kiss and throwing his head back against the wall in ecstasy.

He felt as if he'd explode at any minute. Axel took the opportunity of no longer being connected to the blonde's lips and attached his mouth to his neck, suckling at the crook where it met his shoulder and slowly moving up, then back down, where he bit gently to leave his mark on the blonde. Roxas let out another long, loud moan, throwing his head back once again, his fingers pulling against red locks.

"I….I…I've…" he stuttered, almost too overtaken by pleasure to form a coherent sentence. Axel paused and shifted slightly so that he was facing the blonde, halting all action so that he could speak. "I've never…never done this…before," he managed to get out between jagged breaths, trying to settle himself down. His manhood was throbbing violently beneath his pants, his vision still blurry, a mixture of the mind-numbingly amazing pleasure and his problem in his pants.

Axel instantly froze. He hadn't expected this; he hadn't thought of how the kid could be a virgin. Or rather it had crossed his mind, but by the way he was moving so seductively on the dance floor he had instantly disregarded it. And it wasn't as if this was his first time with someone as inexperienced and innocent as Roxas; usually they would both just ignore it and get lost in themselves.

But Roxas was different. He couldn't squash the memory of those big, beautiful blue eyes, and in their silence, even as Roxas began coming onto him again, his own member throbbing in his tight black jeans, the blonde giving an experimental lick to his earlobe, he knew he couldn't go through with it.

He thrust his arms out and pushed the blonde away, an action that was met with a look of worry and confusion and hurt. "B…but…I thought…"

"Kid, it's not you, really," Axel began. "I just…I don't think I'm the one you should be doing this with." He sighed and began to walk away, the blonde just staring at the back of his head as he proceeded to head back into the club to gather his things. "W…wait!" he stuttered, coming out of his stupor as he chased after the redhead. "What if I want this?"

"I don't think you know what you want, kid."

"Hey, I'm not some little kid!" Roxas shot back. "I'm an adult now, and I can make my own choices on what I want to do with my life. And right now, I want you."

"You're drunk, you couldn't possibly…"

"I'm serious."

To which Axel smirked and instantly turned around, taking a few predatory steps towards the blonde. Roxas was a bit startled by his change in demeanor, but that didn't make him take back anything that he said. He wanted the redhead more than anything now.

He blinked, and in an instant he was pinned against another wall, the older man leering over him, whispering into his ear.

"**See it from the outside?"** he began, giving a gentle lick to his earlobe, to which the blonde flinched. **"Running through the wall." **

He took his hand and pulled him again, toward the exit of the club, both forgetting any possessions they might have left behind. The cold air almost stung their burning flesh as the redhead proceeded to drag him to his nearby apartment. **"See it from your blinds eye,"** he turned back to him, still going forward, but his own eyes concentrating on the boy behind him. **"But you don't know me at all."**

He turned back around, his swift walk turning into more of a run as he let go of his hand. He had hoped that the blonde would leave him after letting go, but was met with the rapid footsteps of the blonde only slightly behind him. **"I've been here too many times before."**

He abruptly stopped in front of an old brick apartment complex and turned around, Roxas crashing into him. He caught the blonde, lifting his chin up with his slender fingers, one gently tracing its way from the bottom of his deep blue eye down his cheek. **"And your tears don't mean a thing,"** he let go, heading up the steps, the blonde still right behind him. **"And I only come," **he opened the door, heading up another set of rickety wooden stairs, **"when you scream…"**

He turned around again to face the blonde, but this time didn't attempt to grab him. **"I told you, child, don't follow me home. You're just too perfect for my hands to hold."** He turned back around and continued up the stairs nearing the top. **"If you choose to stay you'll throw it all away, and I just want to take your innocence."**

Reaching the top he realized the blonde was still behind him and continued to lead him to his own apartment, continuing down the dirty, musty hall until they had reached a door that read 138. He removed a key from his pocket and gave the door a forceful push to get it open. The blonde stepped inside as the door was left open for him, his steps shaky yet sure as he stared at the small space. It was only one wide room with a stove, microwave, and sink in one corner, a table with two chairs, a small couch with an even smaller television sitting on a dresser, and a queen-sized bed. From the corner of his eye he saw a separate room that concealed a toilet, sink, and shower.

With another blink he was swept up by the redhead, and when he opened his eyes he saw Axel looming over him again, his back against the bed that only moments ago he had looked at from his position across the room. He had him pinned down and Roxas's heart began to race in anticipation, excitement, and fear.

"**Is this what you wanted**?" the redhead whispered, licking at his earlobe again. This time instead of feeling their hips collide, Roxas felt a hand sneak down his torso and rub at the front of his pants, coaxing his somewhat lessened hard-on to spring back into action. **"Did I make your dreams come true?"**

He got up off of Roxas and walked to the dresser where the tv sat, pulling out a few items that Roxas didn't get a good glimpse off, so there was no telling what he had pulled out. He shifted on the bed, pulling himself from lying down to a sitting position. **"You're sitting in a corner wondering what you got into."**

He walked back towards the bed, turning around so that the blonde could see what it was he had pulled out of that dresser. **"And you ache for this, you don't understand that your tears don't mean a thing," **he told him, shoulders going up as he closed his eyes, feigning a look of ecstasy. **"And I only come when you scream. I told you child don't follow me home. You're just too perfect for my hands to hold."**

But he took a detour at the bed at instead headed towards the door, opening it all the way for Roxas. He was going to allow him to back out of this. Whether the blonde listened or not wasn't his problem. **"If you choose to stay you'll throw it all away, and I just want to take your innocence."**

Roxas shook his head, protesting against the redhead asking him to leave. He nodded in response, closing the door and locking it behind him, as he strode back to the bed where the blonde was sitting. **"There's no such thing as fate, only yourself to blame. You never walked away."**

But Roxas held his defiant, confident look as Axel reached the edge of the bed. But he didn't join him, not yet. **"I told you child don't follow me home. You're just too perfect for my hands to hold. If you choose to stay you'll throw it all away, and I just want to take your innocence."**

Now he got onto the bed and Roxas laid back down. **"I told you child don't follow me home,"** he began unzipping the younger's vest, drinking in his tanned skin, closing his eyes as he backed away slightly. **"You're just too perfect for my hands to hold. If you choose to stay you'll throw it all away and I just want to take your innocence."** He trailed a finger down the blonde's skin, the response he got in return was anything but protesting. **"I just want to take your innocence." **He reached the hem of the boy's pants, playing with the button, twirling it in between two of his fingers.** "I just want to take…"**

"Okay!" Roxas shouted, making Axel stop his ministrations. He knew it. He knew the younger would want to back out. He began to move to get up off the blonde, but was quickly stopped when the blonde wrapped his arms around his neck and pulled him into a mind-searing kiss, applying as much force as possible, their lips meshing together in perfect harmony. It was a quick, passionate kiss that the two thoroughly enjoyed.

And with that, all thought and precaution was thrown to the wind, their moans and screams resonating throughout the room as they made love for the first time.

**TBC**

** Whoo….first chapter…done…so I'm still in a hurry trying to get all of the author's notes typed up. Without further ado, here is your Chapter 2 Preview: Love/Hate Heartbreak! **

_**He quickly ran down the stairs, not looking back once. He didn't want to see if Axel was following him. He didn't want to be reminded of this night ever again. He didn't want an excuse to turn around, abandon all logic, and try to make something work.**_

_**His lungs burned from his hurried pace as he ran outside, sucking in the cold morning air. Ignoring the sting he pressed on, intent on getting far away as possible. God, he was already regretting leaving! But it was too late to turn around now. The best thing to do would be to push it to the back of his mind and try to forget about everything. **_

**Anyway, read and review, over and out! -Nibzo-**


	2. AI, S2: LoveHate Heartbreak

**-Oh bummer. Not a single review. And I really thought this was an interesting idea…**

**Well…I don't know then. I guess I figured a musical on this site probably wouldn't catch too much attention. Maybe perhaps because it's rated M and still listed as "In Progress". I mean, I never read IP stories anymore because I hate waiting and am usually in the mood for just a quick fic that's already done.**

**But hey! I have one Favorite! That's enough motivation to keep me going!**

**So I'll keep posting the mechanics of bold/italics/slashes guide until we're a few chapters in, and hopefully the current reader (and *crosses fingers* new readers!) will remember. Bold with little lines following it=My own little author notes. Bold with quotation marks=Singing. Italics with quotation marks=character thoughts. Italics without quotation marks=dreams or other subconscious activity. **

**Disclaimer: Any music in this work of fiction is not accredited to me, but to the amazingly awesome band Halestorm. I also have no ownership in the company that owns Kingdom Hearts; I did not create the characters, plot, music, etc. in the game, and if I had things would have ended much differently, along the lines of Riku taking Sora sprawled across a table. Roxas's relationship would have been no different; maybe I'd spice things up a little by having Axel fuck him against a wall or something. Anyway, I think you get the picture.-**

What little light was outside was slowly leaking into the room, the very first signs of daybreak making themselves known to the occupants beneath the covers in the small apartment. Chests heaved slightly in silent slumber, their every breath in perfect unison as they both laid together in bed curled up in each other's arms. A small smile was spread across the blonde and the redhead's faces, the comfort and warmth of being with another soothing their internal need for human affection.

But Roxas was never a very deep sleeper, and always needed the room to be pitch black in order to stay asleep. With the room brightening bit by bit he felt himself slowly waking up, and at the same time began to procure a slight throb in his head. He wanted to keep his eyes closed, stay within this warmness that surrounded him, the strong arms from behind encircling him in such a loving manner…

"_Wait, strong arms?"_ he began to thing, his eyes now shooting open. The first thing he saw was the pillow his head was laid against, and it was most definitely not his. He noticed the sheets were different as well, the blanket covering his small naked frame and, _"Oh God, I'm naked in another bed!"_

Slowly and as quietly as he could, he turned his head around and was met with a sinking feeling in his stomach. The redhead sleeping next to him showed no signs of stirring from his slumber anytime soon, and his lack of clothing made the prospect of sex became even more of an issue. Roxas tried to remember the events from last, closing his eyes tight as he tried to clear his foggy mind. He clenched his eyes shut in pain, immediately feeling the effects his hangover had on his poor brain. "Fuck…" he muttered, the cloudiness of his mind making it especially hard to concentrate.

It was his birthday, he remembered that. And the shots. Godamnit, he was never going to drink an alcoholic beverage as long as he lived. Then there was him. He glanced over to the guy next to him. Softly gazing at the sleeping redhead he began to remember their night of passion.

He was drunk, and according to the law it wouldn't have been consensual sex. But now in his sober and hung-over state it didn't take long for him to realize that even if he hadn't been completely smashed there would have been no denying the redhead. Watching his form go up and down as he silently breathe, he knew that there was something that the other man had that he had been searching for. There was a connection made last night, and he would be a fool to pass up this chance to establish a relationship with him when he felt so strongly, even after only knowing him for just one night.

But he didn't like men that way, did he? Roxas slowly and as quietly as he could got out of the bed, a slight creak being heard, the mattress shifting as his weight was removed. Looking to the left he saw his clothes strewn about the floor in various places and he tiptoed over to them.

Leaving felt so very wrong, but at the same time, it felt like the right thing to do.

"**Why did I waste my time?"** he bent over and picked up his boxers, putting one leg in and then the other, pulling them up so at least his bottom half was clothed. He glanced over to the sleeping redhead, an eerie feeling in his stomach making him feel sick. He knew that he felt something for him; his heart was screaming, begging him to stay. But at the same time his head was telling him to get the hell out while he still could.

But damnit, if he had never done it in the first place. He cursed himself for his stupidity. If only he had gone home with his brother and friends. If he hadn't followed the man back to his apartment. If he had left when Axel had told him to go; that he didn't know what he was getting into. He didn't. And he resented himself the most for letting it get this far.

"**Two steps I don't rewind. Feeling I can't define,"** he picked his jeans off the floor and then twisted his body back to the sleeping form, glaring at it. **"I give back to you." **

"**Give it all away,"** his head cried.

"**Take it all the way,"** his heart echoed back.

"**Give it all away."**

"**Take it all the way."**

"**I see my demise,"** he recalled Axel's mesmerizing eyes. Those beautiful, dangerous orbs that reminded him of the essence of poison. **"From behind your eyes." **He looked back to the floor, trying to keep the man out of his sight. If he looked back again there was no telling if he'd want to stay or leave. **"I can't pass you by. I give back to you."**

"**Give it all away."**

"**Take it all the way."**

"**Give it all away."**

"**Take it all the way."**

"**Give it all away."**

"**Take it all the way."**

"**Give it all away."**

"**Take it all the way."**

He slipped his jeans on, buttoning them up quickly, eager to get out as soon as possible.

"**Between love, between hate,"** he shuddered at the silence of the room other than his own musings, for he could hear the redhead's steady breathing penetrating the air. **"Shake this silence back 'fore it's too late. And it haunts you, and it haunts you. It's a love-hate heartbreak."**

After getting his pants back on Roxas went to his shirt, his heart still pounding in his chest, knowing he could wake up any minute. One side of him was hoping he would, then they could talk, maybe work something out. But his mind was just telling him to focus on what was ahead; the sooner he was dressed, the sooner he could leave.

After slipping his shirt on he tiptoed over to the redhead, facing him, observing the man in his sleep. The night with Axel had been so beautiful, so why couldn't he just stay? A big part of him was regretting what he was doing, knowing that a relationship as good as this could be fully what he needed. But at the same time he felt that it could be the death of him.

"**This could be suicide."** He reached out to brush those perfect red locks, his fingers gently grazing over them. **"A kiss with these red knives. Why am I driving blind?"**

And suddenly he felt a wetness trickle down his cheek. He didn't want to leave anymore. God no, that was the last thing he wanted. **"I give back to you."**

"**Give it all away."**

"**Take it all the way."**

"**Give it all away."**

"**Take it all the way."**

"**Try you on for size."** This really could work, he thought to himself. He was just about to climb back into bed when another tear fell down his cheek. This one went unignored. **"I thought boys don't cry."** His heart was beating a million miles per hour, still stuck in that rut.

No. He can't stay. He just can't. There was no way it would work out. He hardly knew anything about this guy. He met him at a dance club, for crying out loud. **"You're my perfect lie,"** he moved away from Axel's bedside, hell-bent on getting the rest of his clothes and then leaving. **"I give back to you."**

"**Give it all away."**

"**Take it all the way."**

"**Give it all away."**

"**Take it all the way."**

"**Give it all away."**

"**Take it all the way."**

"**Give it all away."**

"**Take it all the way."**

"**Between love, between hate, shake this silence back 'fore it's too late."** He hurriedly moved to put his shoes on, his eyes scanning the room for his coat so that he could leave. No, he'd regret it if he didn't leave**. "And it haunts you, and it haunts you. It's a love-hate heartbreak. Between love, between hate, shake this silent back 'fore it's too late. And it haunts you, and it haunts you. It's a love-hate heartbreak."**

Slipping his jacket on and grabbing the remainder of his things, he stopped at the door once more before leaving. This was now or never. His last chance to get back into bed with the redhead and try to make something of this relationship.

And then he stirred. The sheets shifted, and out of fear Roxas hurried out the door before even giving it a second thought. **"Between love, between hate, shake this silence back 'fore it's too late."** Axel's face appeared in his mind, that loving look he got from his partner the night before. Why was he leaving that behind? He tried to will those piercing green eyes away. **"And it haunts you, and it haunts you. It's a love-hate heartbreak."**

He quickly ran down the stairs, not looking back once. He didn't want to see if Axel was following him. He didn't want to be reminded of this night ever again. He didn't want an excuse to turn around, abandon all logic, and try to make something work.

His lungs burned from his hurried pace as he ran outside, sucking in the cold morning air. Ignoring the sting he pressed on, intent on getting far away as possible. God, he was already regretting leaving! But it was too late to turn around now. The best thing to do would be to push it to the back of his mind and try to forget about everything.

"**Between love, between hate, shake this silence back 'fore it's too late. And it haunts you, and it haunts you. It's a love-hate heartbreak!"**

"**Give it all away."**

"**Take it all the way."**

"**Give it all away."**

"**Take it all the way."**

And with that he turned around one last time to face the building, staring it down only for a split second before he faced the direction he was going, eager to get back home. As his feet hit the sidewalk the final tears forced their way out from behind his eyelids. As they trickled down his cheeks his fast-walk turned into a jog and then a sprint, the apartment getting farther and farther away until it disappeared from sight.

He knew he had done the right thing—the logical thing. But at the same time he was sure he hadn't.

The movement around the room roused Axel from his slumber, and the door quickly closing finally made him open his eyes. The spot in the bed occupied by Roxas the night before was now empty. He quickly sat up, his eyes worriedly scanning the room for any signs of the blond.

But all in vain. His clothes, his things, the blonde himself was gone without a trace. Not even a note present to give Axel the slightly hint of what was going on. All he had was a name and a face.

Axel laid back down in his bed, a sinking feeling in his stomach surfacing. He was so sure that Roxas had felt the same way he did. But apparently he had been wrong. The blonde left without so much as showing interest in what had happened between them last night.

It was so magical, beautiful, passionate. He had nearly gotten lost in those blue eyes of his, that small lithe body clinging to him in desperation as he took him. Axel had wanted to make things work out so that it was more than just a one-night stand. But now it was impossible. Sure, he could chase after him, but what would that do? Confirm to him that the blonde really wasn't interested in him.

He'd lived long enough to experience real heartbreak. God knows he never wanted to go through that again. But then…why…why was his heart aching so much?

Axel curled into a little ball in his sheets, feeling alone and powerless. No one would hear his silent sobs as he cried in anguish over his new lost love.

TBC

**-And there you have it! Chapter 2! Or…I guess Act 1 Scene 2 since this is a musical. Though I haven't the slightest idea where I would end Act 1 and begin Act 2…**

**So here is your next chapter preview! Remember; I have to have the next chapter fully written when posting this one, so you can rest assured Chapter 3 is done and just needs authors notes and that I'll be working on Chapter 4 whenever I get the chance. Though being a sophomore in college and holding a job as a waitress gets kind of busy, so please be patient with me. **

_**Act 1, Scene 3: Familiar Taste of Poison**_

"_**Then why…"**_

"_**I just don't think I'm ready, okay?"**_

_**And they had left it at that. But why had Roxas hesitated like that? He was sure that this was what he had wanted to do, and it wasn't like he was a virgin or anything. And sure, he loved her, right? So then why couldn't he?**_

_**By now it had been so long that Axel was no longer a part of his regular memory. It was so deep inside of him that he couldn't find the answer even if he wanted to. So now he was left confused as to why this was happening. He was constantly searching for an answer, questioning his everyday actions that had never raised suspicion before, but if there was any clue as to what had been going on then he was sure it would be found there.**_

**And there you go! Just to clarify, this woman is NOT an OC. Please, I've been on this site long enough to know that y'all hate that.**

**So I guess I'll see you (hopefully more of you) in the next Scene! Read and review, over and out! -Nibzo-**


	3. AI, S3: Familiar Taste of Poison

**-Okay, so it's been awhile since I last updated. And it's not that there hasn't been any motivation for my readers. A few more people have added the story to their watch/favorites list, and I even got one review. I tell ya, that one comment made all the difference. It was just like the rain cleared up and the sun was out and suddenly from the heavens there was this, "AAAAAAAAAAAAMENNNNNNN!"**

**Okay, so perhaps it didn't happen quite like that. Anyway, I haven't given up on this story. No, I still think this is a pretty bitchin' idea. So I will continue. It's just going to take time, since I work two jobs part-time and am a sophomore in college. And my field experience will be starting soon. So if there are long breaks in-between, just know that I try to squeeze in as much time for writing as possible.\**

**Quick mechanics run-through.** **Bold with little lines following it=My own little author notes. Bold with quotation marks=Singing. Italics with quotation marks=character thoughts. Italics without quotation marks=dreams or other subconscious activity.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts. I don't own Halestorm. -**

After three years of pushing it to the back of his mind, Roxas didn't even remember what had happened on the day he had turned eighteen-years-old.

Sure, it was hard for the blonde to banish those stunning green eyes, that wild red head of hair, the gentleness in Axel's nature. He'd wake up in a cold sweat after having a dream or a nightmare, immediately running to the bathroom to vomit or breaking down into anguished sobs. He didn't know why it affected him that way, but he was aware of the immense sadness based on his decision to leave.

He could always go back, too. He knew where Axel lived, and it was safe to assume that he would see Axel at that same club again. But he was terrified of what could happen afterward. So naturally, he avoided these places like the plague.

And as time went by, he was able to numb himself to the feelings of sadness that resulted from his decision. He pushed them to the back of his mind, refused to think about them for even a moment. He had convinced himself that it hadn't ever happened.

After those first three years, Roxas led the life of a normal young adult. Graduating high school and being in the workforce for three years with Axel on his mind was hard enough, and when he finally was able to push it to the very back of his mind and in a sense almost forget it, he was ready to move on and start anew. Leaving his old life and old memories behind, Roxas enrolled in the local technical college, and went on spring break like everyone else his age. That was where he met Namine.

For awhile he felt like he was in a dream, and that he had fallen in love with her. Coming back from the beach he kept in touch with her, maintaining the position as her boyfriend. They continued to see each other and grew closer, establishing an intellectually and mentally intimate relationship with her.

But when that pivotal moment came to establish that physical connection, Roxas hovering over his lover as she lay beneath him in anticipation, he felt as if he couldn't do it. He shifted over and climbed off, sighing to himself as his eyes scanned the room, trying to find his boxers.

"Is…is something wrong?" Namine asked.

"No…no, it's not you, I just…I just can't do this right now."

"But…I mean…I just don't understand, Roxas. I thought you loved me. I thought we both wanted this."

Roxas pulled his underwear up off the floor and slid them on, then sat back on the edge of the bed. He didn't face her though. "I do love you, Namine."

"Then why…"

"I just don't think I'm ready, okay?"

And they had left it at that. But why had Roxas hesitated like that? He was sure that this was what he had wanted to do, and it wasn't like he was a virgin or anything. And sure, he loved her, right? So then why couldn't he?

By now it had been so long that Axel was no longer a part of his regular memory. It was so deep inside of him that he couldn't find the answer even if he wanted to. So now he was left confused as to why this was happening. He was constantly searching for an answer, questioning his everyday actions that had never raised suspicion before, but if there was any clue as to what had been going on then he was sure it would be found there.

He finally came to a conclusion, and after reaching it he knew there was only one thing he could do if he wanted to save his relationship with Namine. Deep inside him, he knew if he wanted to totally obliterate Axel from his memory then this had to be done.

"Namine, will you marry me?"

And here he was sitting in the same club he had visited for his eighteenth birthday almost five years ago, now back for a whole different reason. Instead of celebrating the freedom of being an adult, he would now be cherishing his last night as an unmarried bachelor.

Entering he felt something odd was up; the whole place seemed very familiar to him. But since the whole incident with Axel had been buried and was almost gone, he couldn't remember why it was so familiar to him. As he downed his drink the men surrounding him whistled at the dancers located in their cages attached to the ceiling. All save for his brother, Sora, who was looking around nervously, obviously uncomfortable in the situation.

Roxas just shrugged it all off. He going to be married in less than 24 hours, and he felt like ogling at other women would somehow be cheating on his longtime girlfriend and future wife.

He took another sip and looked over to Hayner, who had gone up to the bar minutes ago for what he assumed would be another drink. Yet when he glanced over he noticed the other blond talking to the bartender and pointing at him, followed by the man nodding his head and continue speaking, though this time in a hush-hush sort of tone. Hayner frowned and sighed, but then after a few more words from the barkeep he nodded his head and forked over a wad of bills, to which the man behind the counter motioned for another guy and whispered something in his ear.

"Hayner, what the hell are you up to?" Roxas asked, glaring daggers as his friend came back over.

"Well this is a bachelor party," he said snickering, some of the other guys sitting at the table with him hooting and hollering. "Alright, way to go, Hayner!" his friend Pence cheered, raising his fist in the air. "He got us a stripper!"

"More like I got him a private show," Hayner sighed, "the bartender said she was the best in the joint, but that she only did showings with an audience of one. I thought I'd sacrifice our entertainment for his sake because it's his last night of being a free man and all."

"Yeah, because you really needed to do that, Hayner," Roxas retorted. He was ready to head out and maybe take his brother with him; it was clear that Sora didn't want to be there either. He got up but then was pushed back down by his so called friend, the other shaking his head in protest.

"Oh no, no, no! I paid a shitload of money for you to have fun with this chick! Now you are going to sit here and in half an hour you are going to go back and get your private show and you are going to like it!"

"And if I refuse?"

"I'll put those pictures of you in a dress in your wedding slideshow."

Hayner didn't have him cornered, but he would like to maintain some of his manly pride during what would be an emotionally charged day. Pictures of him dressed up as a woman would get in the way of that goal. "Fine," he sighed, picking up his glass and downing the rest of it in one swig. "Then get me s'more of these. I'm going to need it."

"Trust me, dude. You'll like her. Her nickname is The Dancing Flames. She sounds smokin'!"

Roxas looked left and right, searching for the door that would contain this mystery woman whom his friends had so graciously purchased some alone time with. If he was lucky she wouldn't object to being paid for doing nothing and he could just sit and wait it out, and if not then he'd just be shit out of luck. His feet padded against the red-carpeted floor, the dimmed lights of the hallway making it a bit more difficult to read the numbers printed right above the frame. Or maybe it was the amount of alcohol in his system.

"Room five…room seven…room nine…"

Oh, it must be on the other side of the hall. Sure enough, he turned around and was then face-to-face with room number eight, where the Dancing Flames would be. He hesitantly reached forward, his fingers wrapping together to form a first, gently tapping on the door in front of him. His knock was soft and barely audible, and if it weren't for the utter silence that plagued the whole hallway, he was sure that the woman inside wouldn't be able to hear.

A deep voice whispered to him through the door, telling him to come in. The voice made him shudder and his heart suddenly started pounding. He shouldn't be this nervous; didn't just minutes ago he was so against it that it shouldn't bother him? He blamed it on his dulled senses; the alcohol was playing tricks on him. There was nothing to be worried about.

So he wrapped his hand around the knob and turned it slightly to his right, the door making a creaky noise as it slowly opened, a small trickle of light from the hall flooding into the almost pitch-black room. There were a few candles strewn about to light the way, but they barely added anything to the darkness in the room.

Another thing he noticed were the rose petals spread across the floor, with full-bloom ones carefully placed across a table that had a bottle of wine at the center, two glasses glistening from the light of a nearby candle. No wonder she only did her sessions in private.

"Are you Roxas?" the voice said, almost shaking slightly. It was way too deep to be female, and had a familiar ring to it that excited and terrified him at the same time. "Yeah, I am."

And he stepped out of the shadows of the room, his face illuminated by the few candles that were placed around the room. She looked womanly enough, with long, red hair, spiked up a bit, but still seeming to flow on and highlight her pale face. There were little tattoos underneath her green eyes, and when Roxas saw the color he swallowed. They were the most beautiful eerie green. Like…like…

"Poison…"

"Come again?" she strained, and it was obvious from her stance that she was nervously shaking. Her thin, long black robe, tied shut, fluttered at the bottom as her legs swayed her back and forth. "P….please, sit down…." She gestured to the table. Roxas did take a seat, but she remained standing, taking the bottle of wine and lifting it to the edge of the glass, tipping it gently and pouring the blood-red liquid from the bottle.

"Drink."

So he did. Roxas lifted the cup to his lips, his gaze never leaving those familiar green eyes that nervously fluttered open and shut, scanning the room every now and then. He lifted the glass and took another sip, this time closing his eyes in order to savor the taste dripping down his throat.

But when he opened them, the woman was on his lap. Her robe was now open, and he could see that she was actually a he; his pale, toned chest exposed, a hard member poking up at his own stomach. Roxas's eyes went wide from shock, but he didn't move, didn't say a thing. Thoughts screaming at him to get out of there, that this was wrong. He was getting married tomorrow!

But…he couldn't. As the redhead wrapped his arms around his neck and pulled him into a long, tight embrace, somewhere in Roxas's heart he felt peace. There was that little voice inside of him that whispered softly, barely audible for even himself to hear.

"_Welcome home."_

"**Drink the wine my darling you said,"** the redhead broke his embrace and began to suckle on the blonde's neck. He gasped, entwining his fingers into those brilliant red locks as he felt a sharp bite pierce his skin, drawing in an even quicker gasp. This seemed so familiar, yet he couldn't trace it back to any part of his memory, which at the moment was clouded with alcohol, lust, and desire.

"**Take your time and consume all of it. But the roses were only to drain my inspiration,"** he craned his neck to one side to allow the man better access, who immediately began licking down the newly-abused flesh, fingers fumbling to undo the buttons of the shirt to continue his trail down the blonde's chest. His eyes fluttered open, noticing the surroundings of the room that he had only glanced at before, trying to take it all in. **"The promises were spoiled before they left your lips, and I breathe you in again,"** he took in another sharp gasp that was followed by a long, passionate moan as he felt the redhead get to the bottom of his shirt and snake his hands up and down his chest. Those warm, big hands felt magical against his flesh.

"**Just to feel you underneath my skin holding onto,"** the redhead's tongue then continued it's descent down from his neck and onto his chest, his fingers massaging his abdomen, mouth stopping at one of his nipples. When he felt that hot, wet mouth surround the small bud he let out an even louder moan, throwing his head back in ecstasy. **"The sweet escape is always laced with the familiar taste of poison."**

As the redhead switched nipples, assaulting the other one, swirling his tongue around, something came back into Roxas's memory. History was basically repeating itself. He knew this person, had these same feelings for him before; these feelings of everything being so right yet so wrong at the same time. **"I tell myself that you're no good for me." **Those hands on his stomach snaked down to his hips and began sensually rubbing them, moving his fingers up and down, sending massive tingles of pleasure up his spine before dipping into the waistband of his pants slowly moving across his skin.

"**I wish you well, but desire never leaves,"** another short breath escaped his lips as he felt the redhead's hands cup his ass, massaging his cheeks, pants loosely clinging to him now. The pleasure was so intense; Roxas really couldn't ignore the double-feeling of shame and bliss from this. There was this constant inner-battle between his mind and his heart, and he honestly wanted to side with his true feelings. **"I could fight this 'til the end, but maybe I don't want to win."**

"**I breath you in again,"** his felt his pants go down and heard a pair of knees hit the floor, the weight that was on his lap leave, as he looked down to see the redhead with his face against his chest, hugging him. It was wet with a mix of sweat and tears, the body below him shaking in sobs, hot breath tickling his navel. "I love you, Roxas. I love you."

This man knew his name? Then he must have known him before. Did he recognize him from his dreams? **"Just to feel you underneath my skin holding onto,"** he felt his briefs being yanked down and his member exposed. Almost immediately, ignoring any foreplay, the redhead's mouth took Roxas's length in whole, sucking at it ferociously. Roxas screamed in pleasure, feeling himself twitch in pleasure as the man in front of him sucked him off. **"The sweet escape is always laced with the familiar taste of poison."**

"**I don't want to be saved, I don't want to be sober I want you on my mind."** Yes, this man had to be from his dreams; that's where he recognized him from. But what was the man's name? He had to think on this one, go back to these dreams where he would utter sweet nothings to him, scream his name in fits of ecstasy. He would usually wake up to his dreams, but this time he refused to.

"**In my dreams, behind these eyes and I wanna wake up. No, not this time."**

And as the man started bobbing up and down and Roxas's orgasm rapidly approached, that coil in his stomach slowly coming undone, member weeping pre-cum into his awaiting mouth, it was slowly coming back to him. The name…it was…it was…

"**I breathe you in again just to feel you underneath my skin holding onto the sweet escape is always laced with the familiar taste of poison."**

And he felt himself explode and his vision go white, ejaculating his seed into the redhead's mouth, it was there. The name had resurfaced, and he shouted it out as his eyes squeezed shut, overcome by pleasure. "Axel!"

The room was completely quiet as Axel's head jerked upward, tears bordering the bottoms of his eyes and looking up at him hopefully. He moved back up to Roxas, staring deep into his eyes and searching for an answer. Seconds later it looked as if he had found it, his lips curling into a sad smile. In turn Roxas stared into those beautiful green eyes. **"The familiar taste of poison."**

Leaning forward, Axel pressed his lips to the blonde's and held himself there, refusing to take himself off or press himself in any farther. His heart finally felt happy; he was with the one that he had loved for so many years, who he had been pining for and wishing on every star that they would one day finally meet and relive that night. And now they were together again.

But this simple kiss did made Roxas realize that this wasn't a dream; this was real. The memories of that night and all of his feelings surrounding Axel resurfaced, and with it a violent wave of emotion. Love and fear, hope and despair, all of the emotions he had felt when he had turned eighteen years old.

He began to panic.

Roxas immediately started struggling, breaking the gentle kiss. Axel stared at him with a look of confusion as he frantically began moving around, yanking his pants back up his legs whilst still sitting down, one had going back up to his shirt as he tried to button ever a few of them up.

"Roxas?"

He jumped, and the chair he was still seated on leaning backward as he ungracefully flipped himself backward, waving his hands in the air as he tried to get some gravity back to pull him forward, but to no avail. After crash-landing, even in pain he was more than eager to get the hell out of this place. He looked disheveled, the deer-in-headlights looked etched across his face. Ignoring his undone belt hanging casually around his pants and his not-all-the-way buttoned shirt he immediately shot up and burst into a sprint, slamming himself against the door, his hands shaking violently as he tried to let himself out.

"Roxas!"

The redhead had gotten up, and Roxas turned his head around for that small moment. He noticed how Axel looked just as scared as he did, but there was something different about it. Not wanting to find out, he finally got the door open, and swiftly ran out and down the hallway, forgetting about his friends waiting in the club and frantically searching for a way outside. He needed to slow down and catch his breath, but he couldn't just yet. First he needed to get out.

Looking left and right, he noticed a backdoor, and he raced to the door, his body slamming against the wooden appendage and forcing it open, panting and choking on the muggy air outside. He heaved in and out as he slumped against the brick wall of the building, desperately trying to catch his breath. As the sticky air slithered down his throat and into his lungs he touched his lips, Axel's kiss still lingering.

"**The familiar taste of poison."**

Not wanting to spend another moment there, in fear that Axel would come bursting out of that door, right behind him, he began to walk out of the alley and into the street. He couldn't spend another minute here, and without even so much bothering to let his friends know he had left he kept walking. One step in front of the other, he felt it inside of him. His heart was breaking again. And fuck, he wanted to cry so bad; to just let the tears flow like they had so long ago. But he sure as hell wasn't going to let the world see him like this. So he just kept walking, his form disappearing into the night as he tried to find his way home.

Back inside, a dejected redhead sat on the floor, crying, cursing the world for again taking away the only thing he had ever truly wanted.

"Roxas…"

TBC

_**Somehow he had a feeling that maybe this wasn't what he wanted. What if he did have to break her heart?**_

"_**Night."**_

_**Odd, Namine thought. There was usually a bit more than a one-syllable response. **_

"_**I love you."**_

_**And as she turned back over, Roxas couldn't find it in his heart to say it back because there was that small chance that it wasn't true. **_

**And there you have it. Chapter 4 is ready, but I need to start working on Chapter 5 in order to give you a preview at the end. Hopefully that will get done within the next 2-3 weeks…I'm going to try to get it out sooner than that, but right now that's the more realistic picture. Anyway, read and review, over and out! -Nibzo-**


	4. AI, S4: Better Sorry Than Safe

**-Okay, I've come up with a new plan. My new idea is that the next chapter does not have to be done in order for me to post. It's a lot of writing, and can take a lot longer than it actually needs to be. And besides, if I have a good part of it typed out, I can give you that and then work further. Usually I type these up during class, and I can never get through a whole chapter in a small 50 minutes. But I can usually get a decent part out to give you enough of a preview of the next chapter.**

**So that is my new idea. It doesn't have to be done. There just has to be what I consider a good part typed up to give a glimpse of what's coming next.**

**What I've also come to realize is that musicals are usually divided up into two acts. So I decided the next chapter will be the end of Act I. I'll explain how that divides up at the end of this chapter, since I don't want to give anything away. I'll also give a short quip about what I'm up to lately, which can give you a heads-up as to when I'll be posting different scenes.**

**Disclaimer: Do not own Kingdom Hearts. Or Halestorm.- **

"You're home early."

Roxas had just closed the door of his apartment that he shared with Namine. He jumped at the sound of her voice as his heart and mind raced, his sweaty palms slipping at the knob. Feeling his throat go dry, he quickly responded to his fiancé, trying to make it seem as if nothing was out of the ordinary.

"Sora didn't feel well. I decided to take him home. Y'know, since he's my brother and all."

"Roxas, are you alright?"

She could see right through him. No way would he ramble like that and explain himself when she thought it wasn't necessary. She took a few steps towards him, reaching a hand out to gently place on his shoulder, to show him that he had her support. But the second her hand was there Roxas tensed and shrugged her off.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

But he was anything but fine. That encounter with Axel had stirred memories that he had tried so hard to suppress and get rid of. Feelings that were almost five years old that he had never really done anything with had resurfaced and changed his life in less than a few hours.

Maybe this was a warning. Some higher power telling him that before he could actually marry Namine, he had to sort out all of this stuff from the past and put a definite end to all of it. After all, it wasn't fair to her for him to go into this lifelong relationship totally uncommitted and unsure. The wedding may be tomorrow, but that gave him plenty of time to work everything out. Plus, he was pretty sure that this was what he wanted.

"I'm going to bed," Roxas said, putting his shoes by the door and loosening his collar.

"Yeah, I was just getting ready to as well. Let's go."

They crossed the floor together, socks scratching against the hardwood floor, Namine following her soon-to-be husband as she flicked off the living room light. From the way he walked she couldn't help but think that perhaps something was up with Roxas. But she didn't want to say anything. From knowing him so long, it was easy to tell that he was dealing with something that he was intent on solving by himself. Yes, she wished with all of her heart that he would trust her enough to share this problem with her, but she also knew that he needed his space.

Closing the door, it didn't take long for the two to slip out of their clothes and into their sleepwear. Namine kept a close eye on him as he washed himself up, to see if she could see any sign towards his strange behavior, maybe to give her a hint to what exactly Roxas was going through. But she couldn't see anything out of the ordinary with the way he brushed his teeth or washed his face. "Maybe it really is nothing…"

"Goodnight, Roxas," she cooed before going to bed, turning over in bed to give him a kiss on the cheek. His back faced her, and as he felt her skin touch his he could feel his heart pang with guilt. Somehow he had a feeling that maybe this wasn't what he wanted. What if he did have to break her heart?

"Night."

Odd, Namine thought. There was usually a bit more than a one-syllable response.

"I love you."

And as she turned back over, Roxas couldn't find it in his heart to say it back because there was that small chance that it wasn't true.

As the night went on, Roxas found himself unable to sleep. With the wedding growing closer by the hour, he tossed and turned, felt his heart beating rapidly and the sweat rolling off his body. What was he doing? Was this really what he wanted?

Roxas slowly sat up, gently pushing the covers off to bundle around his wife-to-be. He looked over at her and smiled; that soft yellow hair and perfect white skin, her chest rising evenly as she slept. He couldn't help but smile. He really did have strong feelings for her. But at the same time, he was unsure.

That smile had faded as he let out a heavy sigh. This was just way too much for him. If it weren't for that encounter with Axel, what he could easily call his first love, then maybe he wouldn't be doubting himself.

But perhaps that was indeed what it was. Why he wasn't able to fully commit himself to Namine. He turned to sit on the edge of his bed, his feet resting on the floor, hands grabbing at the sheets in frustration. **"I can't even think of one good reason why I'm always thinkin' 'bout leaving. It's not like everything's so horrible."**

Roxas looked back at Namine and smiled again, gently reaching over to her and brushing a hand against her cheek. **"We've been together for a few years now and you know all my ins and outs,"** but then he immediately drew his hand back, that faint smile once again turning itself upside down. **"But everything's way too comfortable."**

Yes, that was it. He was never able to go that far with her, and had thought that maybe if he married her then everything would fall into place. But it wasn't as simple as that. The truth of the matter, why it had been so hard to get over Axel, why it had haunted him for a good portion of his life, and why they were suddenly thrown together. He was still so madly in love with him, and it was fate that had brought them back together after so long. And this time, he wasn't going to run away from his feelings scared and fearful like he had before.

There was something out there that he truly wanted. Someone he was destined for. It wasn't Namine. It was Axel. And there was only one way that he could get out of this marriage with her.

"**From the moment I wake I plan my escape. I'm not scared 'cause I know there's something out there waiting for me, and I swear that I'll find it someday just wait and see. I don't care that you call me crazy I can't stay 'cause I need room to breathe. There's nothing left to say. Better sorry than safe."**

He got up, the floor cracking as he paced, back and forth, back and forth, trying to think of exactly how this was going to happen. How was he going to let Namine go? Sure, she wasn't the one for him, but that didn't mean he wanted to hurt her. I mean, she was crazy for him, and would be devastated.

Stopping his pacing, his focus went onto the sleeping blonde. She looked so peaceful, so unaware of what was going on. Namine had been so good to him. Could he really go through with something like this?

"**Sometimes I wish you cheated on me,"** he told her sleeping body, staring, almost glaring at her, **"then leaving here would be so easy. It's time to take a chance and give you up."** Roxas turned away, not wanting to look at her. That would add to the shame he felt in betraying her.

There was another thing. He had these feelings of regret abandoning her, and he felt that maybe if he did wait until tomorrow that he wouldn't be able to go through with it. Then what? There would be a deeper regret for not following his true feelings, and he'd be forever trapped in a bind that he didn't want. Sure, it wouldn't be an unhappy marriage, but it wasn't what he truly wanted in life. So he came to this conclusion; he was leaving tonight.

First thing he had to do was get dressed. This was easy to accomplish, as he was already wearing a pair of boxers and male tank top to bed. His jeans and shirt had been thrown to the floor as soon as he had gotten home that evening, mind too distracted to really remember what exactly was happening in the here and now. He grabbed both from the floor and quickly threw them on, hopping around in a frenzy as he tried to get his legs into his pants. Keeping his balance, he was able to hoist them up his legs and onto his hips, and then threw on his shirt before moving any further.

Running over to the closet, he quickly yet quietly searched around for a suitcase, a reusable shopping bag, anything that could carry his needs to survive when he was out on his own. Scrambling and in a panic, knowing he was running out of time, that at any moment she might wake up, he hurriedly reached into the depths of darkness. His fingers grazed across scratchy material, familiar to the Velcro straps of a duffle bag. Hopefully, he pulled it out, thankful that his silent wish was true.

He gently threw it out of the closet and out into the open, the dark blue of the bag almost blending into the darkness. He then stood up and yanked a few sweatshirts and pullovers from their hangers, throwing them towards his duffle bag, some hitting it with a soft thud and sitting ever so still on top, a few straying from it and landing next to it on the floor.

"**In the morning I'll wake and make my escape."**

Roxas then went towards his dresser, taking one drawer and shakily pulling it out. **"I'm not scared,"** he began randomly snatching clothes from various drawers, sure to put in just enough of each to get by on. He was sure it wouldn't take that long to find the redhead; after all, he still worked at that club, and if anything he could try to find his way back to his apartment, since he was vaguely familiar with where it was. Once his new life began, then he could work for some money to get more. **"'cause I know there's something out there waiting for me."**

When his clothes were all piled up and ready to go, he frantically began stuffing them in the duffle bag. Kneeling on the floor he just pushed them in, one after the other, knowing that he was running out of time. **"And I swear that I'll find it someday just wait and see. I don't care that you call me crazy I can't stay 'cause I need room to breathe. There's nothing left to say. Better sorry that safe."**

After the final pair of socks and t-shirt was stuffed into the bag, Roxas went back over to his nightstand to grab his wallet. His ID and the little money he had was really the only thing he actually needed. He grabbed at the leather and slipped it into his pocket. Senses acute and adrenaline rushing, he could feel the scratchiness of his jeans as he withdrew his hand, an old receipt clutched between his fingers. He would use this to scrawl down a small note for her, leaving it behind so she didn't mistake his leaving for her fault. After all, she was a smart girl; with the signs he'd been giving, she'd be able to figure it out easily.

A shiver running up his spine; he was ready to go, and his heart was beating wildly at this new sense of adventure.

Turning back he once again looked at Namine's sleeping figure, her body moving slightly as she breathed in and out. He really did love her, but not as much as he had initially thought. There was someone else in his life; someone he'd ignored for so long. But not anymore. Thus, he had to leave her.

"**I'm not scared 'cause I know there's something out there waiting for me,"** he whispered to her, his final cry, hoping she would understand. His hand reached for her, his fingertips gently caressing her cheek. **"and I swear that I'll find it someday just wait and see. I don't care that you call me crazy I can't stay 'cause I need room to breathe. There's nothing left to say; better sorry than safe."**

Withdrawing his hand, he grabbed the duffel bag off the floor, his feet slowly moving away from her. His back to her, he was ready to step out the door to the room they shared; the last time he would see this place. **"There's nothing left to say."**

And with that, Roxas crossed the threshold and into the apartment, where he courageous strides led him out the door and into the night.

TBC

**Alright, so I posted in my notes at the beginning I'd explain why it'd divide into acts the way I put it in. Roxas has just run away. There will be one more chapter that focuses on how his actions affect others. Act I could be referred to as Pre-Running Away, since the other characters don't know about it until the next chapter. Whereas Act II could be referred to as Pro-Roxas Running Away.**

**Alright then. How about a preview of the next scene?**

_**That was the next place she had decided to search, but as she crossed the bedroom to head out and into the other rooms of their apartment, she felt a paper crunching beneath her feet. At first she shrugged it off, picking it up and glancing at it for merely a second, fully intent on setting it down and then returning to the task at hand. But then, the small words scribbled on what she noticed was the back of a receipt made her look twice, and nearly devastated her when she was able to take in the words so hurriedly scribbled down.**_

"_**I'm Sorry. –Roxas"**_

_**Namine felt like she couldn't breathe. Her heart was caught in her throat as she tried to comprehend what those words meant, trying to convince herself that it wasn't true, and that it was all in her head. Still, no matter how hard she tried, Namine couldn't forget those words, and no matter how hard she wished it wasn't real, the reality of those words that lay in her hand.**_

**So now we move on to part three of notes, or what I'm up to. Field experience is currently on my list of what's going on at the moment, along with college classes (yay for sophomore year!), and two part-time jobs. Luckily I'll be heading to scenarios next week (technically my third job, but it's sometimes too fun to be considered a job) and then off to a convention, where I may be able to sit on a Kingdom Hearts panel! Cross your fingers my friend doesn't fill up the seats before I get one (even though I've tempted him with a projector for the panel, which is an item we would definitely need). **

**So there you go. My division of acts explained, a preview of the next scene, and a bit of what I'm doing to give you an idea how much I can get into writing this musical…fansical…ficsical….what should this be called again? Well, read and review, over and out! -Nibzo**


	5. AI, S5: Bet U Wish U Had Me Back

**-Yes! Yes! Although I didn't get an e-mail update I noticed that I had not one, but two new reviews for this story! How happy this had made me! Thank you thank you thank you. Haha, this is definitley good. I feel so pleased and proud and I finally feel like perhaps I came up with a good idea. **

**Anyway, the semester is coming to a close, with next week (12-13) being the start of finals week. Although I still work my two jobs during most of break, I'll hopefully have a lot more time to write, since they're both part-time, and Tuesdays and Thursdays I don't really do anything. And then I thought, "D'aw, I won't be able to write scenes during American Lit. anymore…"**

**But then I realized that I started this in my Ethics class with a professor I'm going to have next semester for another long class. So problem solved!**

**So here we have the end of Act I. I've decided that this will be the cut-off for acts; this is the last bit of Roxas' life prior to running away to go find Axel. Interestingly enough, the second act will be a bit longer than the first, but that's because I couldn't seem to find a place a song or two after this where I would divide this and still feel like the divide was a good choice.**

**And yes, the song is spelled this way. Didn't want to spell it out this way when publishing the scene, but when typing in the title with correct spellings I couldn't get the last word in. So, for sake of the original spelling of the song and getting the full title, I caved and went with the single U's instead of the actual word "you". Bleh.  
**

**Well, I'm sure you're tired of author's notes now, so I'll just end it at that.**

**Disclaimer: Do not own Kingdom Hearts. Do not own Halestorm songs.- **

As the first lights of morning leaked into the room, Namine lay unaware in bed, peacefully dreaming of wedded bliss to the man she so dearly loved. The bells chimed in delight in her sleep as she imagined the perfect wedding, her mother sitting in the front weeping tears of joy, her father leading her down the aisle to Roxas. Of course, both blondes were all smiles as a happy aura clouded the air. Tears and smiles crowded the seats of the chapel as the minister proclaimed, "You may kiss the bride", and as Namine closed her eyes in the dream and her veil was lifted from her face, a bright light flashed simultaneously with the brilliant beams sneaking their way through the blinds and right into Namine's sleeping face.

But upon her yawn and morning stretch, she was okay with the way the dream had ended. After all, in a few hours it would become a reality. She laughed to herself when she had first thought of being disappointed by the dream's sudden ending, as the man she so loved was right next to her. Reaching over to caress his cheek, to usher her beloved awake, she was discouraged when her fingers met only air.

Turning over, she was surprised to see the space next to her empty. Shrugging it off as nothing, she called to the bathroom connected to their room, thinking perhaps he had gotten up to get ready, or even speculating that she was first awoken that morning by him moving out of bed. "Roxas."

However, there was no answer of any kind. The air was still, the bathroom quiet. She pulled the covers off as she stepped onto the floor, moving to the bathroom as she spoke again, this time a bit of confusion coating her voice. "Roxas? Are you in there?"

The door was closed, so she knocked, her hand rapping lightly upon the wood that stood between her and what she thought was her husband-to-be on the other side. Once again she received no answer, and she knocked again, a bit harder this time. If there wasn't a reply or a sound of any kind this time, she would go in herself to see what was going on. Namine gave it a bit more time, becoming more and more worried by the second.

She didn't hear anything, so her hand tightly gripped the knob and turned it counterclockwise; it wasn't locked, so she slowly opened it. To what she thought might be a horrific sight was rather calming. There was nothing there, and she breathed a sigh of relief. But that still didn't quite answer where Roxas had gone. Was he in the living room or the kitchen?

That was the next place she had decided to search, but as she crossed the bedroom to head out and into the other rooms of their apartment, she felt a paper crunching beneath her feet. At first she shrugged it off, picking it up and glancing at it for merely a second, fully intent on setting it down and then returning to the task at hand. But then, the small words scribbled on what she noticed was the back of a receipt made her look twice, and nearly devastated her when she was able to take in the words so hurriedly scribbled down.

"I'm Sorry. –Roxas"

Namine felt like she couldn't breathe. Her heart was caught in her throat as she tried to comprehend what those words meant, trying to convince herself that it wasn't true, and that it was all in her head. Still, no matter how hard she tried, Namine couldn't forget those words, and no matter how hard she wished it wasn't real, the reality of those words that lay in her hand.

She wobbled back over to the bed, suddenly struck with a gigantic wave of grieve that wouldn't keep her on her feet. Stumbling to the mattress, her feet crossing as she tried to get a grip on reality, she felt herself fall into the bed lifelessly. Tears began to form in her eyes as she tried to keep it together, racking her brain to what possibly could have gone wrong.

What about Roxas's weird behavior last night? After his bachelor party he came home looking flustered and disheveled, breathing heavily and creating small sentences to get her off his case. It was then that only one thing came to her mind; he'd left her for someone he met at the bar, most likely the stripper that his friends had purchased to get him.

This left her feeling betrayed, angry, and miserable. Yet Namine felt she couldn't hate him. After all, she loved him unconditionally; why else would she have said yes when Roxas asked to marry her.

Laying back, her mind wandered to Roxas and how they first met. She smiled to herself at the memory of her first spring break and meeting the blonde under the hot summer sun for the first time.

"**It was you and me and one hot summer beating up with sweat all over each other. Soaking wet. We didn't have a lot of time so we didn't waste much. Found all the right places you wanted me to touch, and don't those memories make it so hard to forget about me?"**

And then all she could feel was anger. How dare he leave her like this? She hadn't done anything wrong, so why? She was so much better than any tramp, any whore he could pick up at his bachelor party. **"I bet you wish you had me back another chance to gain it just like that the best you've ever had."**

She shot up suddenly, her eyes blinking away the tears. **"And do you close your eyes with her and pretend I'm doing you again like only I can? I bet you wish you had me back."**

Yes, that was it. He would be miserable without her, and it wouldn't be long before he came groveling back, begging for her to be his again. If not, then he'd live a miserable life without her and everyday wish she was there. **"I bet you wish you had me back."**

But her anger didn't last before another memory of the good times flooded her brain. She smiled and closed her eyes, as if by simply doing that then maybe she could relive it and stay there. **"It was you and me it seemed to last forever. The way you taste," **she touched her lips gently, remembering his kiss and how it would always set her body on fire, **"I still remember the sounds we made. One day in June I stayed all night and made love to you like the Fourth of July."**

"No, wait," she thought to herself. They had never done anything. She remembered that when they had actually tried, Roxas wasn't able to accomplish anything. In fact, he seemed rather shocked and unwilling to actually do anything beyond kissing. Her theory was then able to change; she then speculated that rather than running away with some prostitute or stripper he had to have been having an affair earlier. That was the only thing she could think of that suddenly made sense.

So he had been cheating on her all along.

Suddenly, Namine was just so angry again. Why couldn't he just tell her? It would have hurt, but it would have saved a lot of trouble she was going through now, figuring it out herself when he had gotten cold feet and ran away to his secret lover. **"I bet you wish you had me back another chance to gain it just like that the best you've ever had. And do you close your eyes with her and pretend I'm doing you again like only I can? I bet you wish you had me back."**

And then she felt it inside of her. Well, fine then. But if she could help it, he would never forget her. And she would haunt him for the rest of his life; never able to forget her face when he was with his new lover. **"Every night, every time you see me when you close your eyes."**

And there was her mission. She had to find him, and she would use anything she could to get him back to her, just long enough so she could get her feelings across. If she were to make him feel guilty, then he would have these feelings of regret and anguish that would torture him for the rest of his days. He would feel sorry for cheating on her and then running away on their wedding day.

Running to the phone, she quickly made a list of who to call in her head; her parents would of course be outraged, having spent all this money on the wedding just for the groom to run away. Her two older sisters would also be willing to help; they would hate to see their baby sister hurt, and would be on the warpath until they had his head. Roxas's parents would also be of use to her; she knew they would be very embarrassed and would do anything to make it up to her.

The friends at his bachelor party would also be able to help; they could let her in on how he had behaved last night. And finally, there was Roxas's brother, Sora. Those two confided in each other and knew everything that the other kept secret to the rest of the world, so he'd be able to give her a name.

So first, she'd call him. Her phone lit up as she began pressing the numbers, her hands clamping around the device as she tried to hold it steady. The final number was pressed and she quickly lifted it to her ear, anxious for Sora to pick up so that she could get some answers.

"Hello?" a groggy voice finally answered, letting out a yawn afterwards.

"Sora, where is your brother?"

"Hmm? Namine? Isn't he with you?"

"No, he's not. He came back last night, but then I woke up this morning and he was gone. He left a note saying he was sorry, and that's it."

Of course, Sora did know. He was pretty much the only one that Roxas had told about Axel. Sora was the only one who knew how it tortured him. Though he thought his brother was over him, or at least trying hard, since he was marrying Namine. Why did he suddenly run away?

"Sora?"

"I've got to go; bye."

Before she could say anything else, the phone was put down on the other end as Sora hung up. And that confirmed it to Namine. A tear ran down her cheek as she put the phone back in the cradle, feeling herself break down.

"**I bet you wish you had me back another chance to gain it just like that like only I can."**

She felt herself becoming slowly becoming hysterical. This was supposed to be the happiest day of her life. Yet she couldn't help herself feeling this much anger and sadness at the same time.

"**You wish you had me back. Bet you wish you had me back."**

Along with these immense feels of sorrow as a result of Roxas's leaving was this exhaustion that she hadn't felt before. She knew that in less than an hour her mother would be over to help her get ready, yet all she wanted to do was sleep. She stretched herself back over the bed they used to share; the bed that still contained his scent from the night before. Curling up into the blankets, she felt her tears fall and stain the fabric. The glistened against her cheeks, falling down as she reached over to the other side of the bed, shifting her position in order to grab hold of Roxas's pillow.

"**Bet you wish you had me back."**

With that, she cried herself to sleep, awaiting her family's call wondering where she was and then having to tell them that there wouldn't be a wedding.

TBC

**-Eeeeh, this was hard to write. I'm usually not much of a Roxas/Namine person…in fact, I've never been a Roxas/Namine person. So writing negatively about him and how much she loved him was hard and almost made me want to barf.**

**But it needed to be done. So now we know that Roxas is on the run in search of Axel and away from Namine and his family. Of course, he won't know the latter until later, and why this is important will also be revealed in the next chapter or two.**

**Preview preview preview!**

_**So here he was now, at this random bar so many miles away. After that incident, he had hopped on a bus and hadn't stepped off until now, getting off to grab something to eat and perhaps a few drinks so he could drown in his misery. He honestly didn't know what to do now; he couldn't go back, and his only option was to search for Axel. Of course, if the success rate of his mission remained at what it was now, than it seemed almost hopeless.**_

_**Grabbing the shot glass placed so perfectly in front of him, he picked it up, feeling the temperature of the cool liquid seep through the glass and chill his fingers. He threw back his head and consumed the whole shot, placing the glass in front of him and gesturing for the bartender to get him another, possibly a few more after that as well. **_

_**It was the first time he had gotten completely wasted like this in awhile. His speech slurred as he called the bartender over again to give him yet another shot of whatever had been in that glass, and whatever had been in there had been pretty damn strong. His voice slurred as he tried to call him over, the bartender looking skeptically looking over at him.**_

**And there you have it. Not too much given away, but more will be revealed in the next chapter. So I guess stay tuned until then! Read and review, over and out! -Nibzo-**


	6. AII S1: What Where You Expecting

**-Welcome to Act II! I hope you all have had a very Merry Christmas and will have a pleasant New Year! I got jumper cables and new tires! It was honestly just what I wanted! You guys get anything special?**

**Anyway, I had to work on Christmas (which someone told me I'd get super amazing tips because everyone feels sorry for you for working the holidays, and I didn't. Dirty liars…) and will again on New Years. It kind of sucks; in the summer I had signed up for a class that ended with a trip that was supposed to take me to London for New Years…but it got cancelled because there wasn't enough interest. Damnit, I wanted to go see the place where Marlowe got stabbed in the eye! And possibly go get my drink on! But noooooooo. And this year I could have actually paid for it…hopefully it's offered this year and I'll have funds to try and take that class.**

**But wow, this turned out to be a lot longer than I expected. So hopefully you all have some time on your hands! Well, time to kick this baby off! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own any Halestorm songs in this story. Nor do I own anything from the Kingdom Hearts franchise. If I did, I would be able to pay for college and go to London on my own…*sniffles*-**

It had been only five hours or so, he honestly couldn't tell. Roxas had gone back to the club during the dead and dull times of the morning he had left, the vibrant nightlife paused with the coming of the sun. Knocking on the door provided no answer at first, and he was ready to give up, but then to his surprise a gigantic man answered the door, groggy-looking from the night before. Why exactly this man, who looked like he could be one of the club's bouncers, was answering the door at nine in the morning was beyond him.

"Beat it, kid. Can't you see hours are over?" he growled. It was a scary sight, really, this beast of a man towering before him, looking icily at him for interrupting his nap. "I….I…" he stuttered at first, but then swallowed hard and found his voice. "I'm looking for someone who works here. Axel…Axel…"

"Don't know of an Axel. Sorry."

He was about to turn around and slam the door in his face, but Roxas immediately reacted, grabbing a hold of the large man's arm and shoving his foot in the closing door.

"Please, sir," Roxas began, and at the icy glare that he got from the man he almost recoiled and let go, but held on. "The Dancing Flames or something like that. Just tell me where he is; I tried his apartment and he wasn't there, and I just…I just…" Roxas choked; he was almost on the verge of tears. "I promise I'll leave if you just tell me where he is or what time he works or something!"

"He's long gone, kid. Bastard quit and left in the middle of his shift last night."

That was when Roxas had last seen him. Of course, Axel had looked distressed and heartbroken that night, so it was only natural he would get as far away as possible. After all, that's what he had done all those years.

"Do you know where he went?"

"Don't know, don't care."

Roxas' grip on the man's sleeve faded as he let go. He stood there for a few seconds in silence, feeling defeated and absolutely horrid. "Thanks," he whispered.

The man, however, didn't respond, and by the time Roxas had issued his thanks the door was already halfway closed.

So here he was now, at this random bar so many miles away. After that incident, he had hopped on a bus and hadn't stepped off until now, getting off to grab something to eat and perhaps a few drinks so he could wash away his misery. He honestly didn't know what to do now; he couldn't go back, and his only option was to search for Axel. Of course, if the success rate of his mission remained at what it was now, than it seemed almost hopeless.

Grabbing the shot glass placed so perfectly in front of him, he picked it up, feeling the temperature of the cool liquid seep through the glass and chill his fingers. He threw back his head and consumed the whole shot, placing the glass in front of him and gesturing for the bartender to get him another, possibly a few more after that as well.

It was the first time he had gotten completely wasted like this in awhile. His speech slurred as he called the bartender over again to give him yet another shot of whatever had been in that glass, and whatever had been in there had been pretty damn strong. His voice slurred as he tried to call him over, the bartender looking skeptically looking over at him.

"You gonna pay for all this, kid?"

"Good Llllllllllllord!" he slurred. "Why does…hey, yeah, why does everyone call me k-kid? Do I llllllllook like some sort of ch-ch-ch…"

"Hey, I just want to know if you've got the money to actually afford all you've been drinking. Almost sounds as if you've had enough, too."

Roxas scowled, reaching into his pocket, fingers scratching at the various bills crumpled inside. He was awfully slow about bringing the money out, his brain not connecting that his hands needed to grasp at the money and then pull it out of his pocket, nor did it seem to register the impatience of the bartender staring him down.

"Just let it go, Lucas. I'll take care of it."

Roxas looked to his left, where he had thought he heard the voice come from, and observed a tall man with vibrant pink hair standing to his side. The bartender looked to protest, but then sighed and got Roxas another drink, bringing an extra one as well for the man who had intervened for him. The pink haired man grinned seductively at the blonde, sitting beside him and scooting a bit closer, their legs slightly touching beneath the bar.

At this, Roxas giggled. The alcohol was surging through his system and messing with his ability to think. Why was he here again…oh yeah, to find Axel…why was he here again.

"Why thanks, mister!" Roxas yelled in an obnoxiously loud manner. His fingers twitched as he reached for the glass, the unsteady and fast movement of his hands spilling more than half the shot as he grabbed it, but he quickly guzzled what was left without noticing. He hiccupped once and put the glass down, his head following the movement as it hit the bar. It hurt, and Roxas winced, but he laughed instead. He was too far gone to really care.

"Easy there, pal," the mysterious pink haired man said, rubbing Roxas's back sensually in support. "We don't need you hurting yourself here, y'know?"

"No, no, no, no," Roxas started, "I do not know. Really, who gives a damn if I hurt myself? I sure don't. I'm sure my family doesn't. I'm sure my wife wouldn't give a damn, either."

"Your…wife?"

Of course, the alcohol had also succeeded in loosening Roxas's lips, as he laughed again. "Oops. Make that ex-wife…or…wait…no, she was my fiancé…but we never rrrrrrrrrrreally made it down the aisle…does that make her an ex-fiancé?"

"Oh, you poor baby," the man cooed, his hands slipping to the blonde's shoulders, rubbing and massaging them now too. "Is that why a cute thing like yourself is out here by yourself? She left you at the altar, broke your poor little heart…"

"No, no, no…" Roxas sat up, however, the skilled hands massaging his shoulders didn't leave. "I l-left her. It was me. I'm the cold-hearted bastard who left her on our wedding day."

"Oooh, such a bad little boy!" he said, those hands moving to Roxas's back now, pressing deeply into his skin, making the younger boy shiver in anticipation, the blonde letting out a small moan in reply.

"No…I'm not a little boy…I'm not a…not a kid."

"Sure, sure."

"No really, I'm not! I can p-p-prove it, too!"

"Oh?"

With that, Roxas turned to face the pink-haired man, grabbed his face, and laid a hot, passionate kiss on his lips.

"How soon can you start?"

"As soon as you need me to."

"Great, great! Tonight good?"

It had been a long day for Axel. He had run out on the middle of his shift, and after stopping at home for a very short time and throwing a few things into a suitcase, he was gone. He had called his landlord and told that he was leaving when he was already twenty miles away from that godforsaken city. He didn't care what happened to the things he had left behind; the bare necessities were all he needed anyway.

And after a long bus ride to who knows where, Axel stepped off. His first job was to look for work; luckily the bar where he had been let off had a sign in the window calling for new dancers of any gender. In the few minutes it took for a shotgun interview, Axel was once again employed, and his first shift was going to start in just a few minutes.

He had never really gotten a good look at the place though. Thinking it wouldn't hurt to familiarize himself with his new occupation, he stepped out from behind that lacey curtain where the dancers freshened up before their shift. He took a deep breath; the place reeked of cigarettes and whiskey. The place didn't look too different from his old job, though; the only difference was that there weren't hundreds of sweaty bodies grinding against each other to the beat of some very bad techno.

And then at the bar, he saw it, and his eyes went wide in shock. That blonde hair was so familiar; no way in hell it could be him…could it? The small frame was slumped over in his chair; the other man rubbing his back he recognized from sitting down with for a quick interview earlier. That was awfully nice of him, but he did run the place, so guess it was standard that the owner try and sober up the customers, or prevent them from puking all over the bar.

Surely it wouldn't hurt for him to take a peek and see if it was the blonde, right? And if it wasn't him, then he'd get himself out of the awkward situation by asking his new boss something.

But as he approached, the blonde suddenly shot back up. Axel gasped and froze as he took in the sight before his eyes; it was him! Fuck, what was he going to do? He didn't want to let himself get hurt again, right? And Roxas seemed drunk as hell, anyway, so what were the odds of…

"Oh…" Axel thought as he saw Roxas kiss his new boss, closing his eyes and mashing their lips together so suddenly he swore he just blinked and it was happening. He felt his heart sink again at the sight, his own lips trembling, eyes tearing up at the thought.

He wasn't going to go through with this again. This stupid thing called love had already messed with his heart enough. So he did the only thing he could think to do; something that was too familiar when it came to Roxas and him.

He ran

Opening his eyes from the mind-numbing kiss with this stranger, Roxas took a moment to regain his breath. They broke apart, and he smiled seductively, leaning his forehead against the pink haired man's. Both let out staggered, uneven breaths, Roxas slowly feeling himself come back down to earth as his eyes wandered around the bar, taking in the different looks of shock and, in some cases, disgust of the people around them.

But there was one look different from the rest. The green eyes that looked back at him in that split second held pain and heartbreak in them, and then they disappeared as the man turned around and ran towards the back. In that minute frame of time, Roxas was finally pulled back to the mission at hand, and nearly pushed the other man off of him and stumbled off from his seat at the bar.

"Axel!" he yelled.

The redhead turned around only for a second, his eyes glistening with tears, before he turned the other way again and continued to run.

"Where the hell do you think you're going?" the man who Roxas had been locking lips with only seconds ago asked, his voice taking on a slightly annoyed tone. The blonde was unaware that he wasn't talking to him, but was puzzled when as he yelled, "Sorry!" back to him, Axel had responded with, "I quit!"

The pink haired man watched in a rather calm irritation as the two ran out together, Axel pushing the fire exit open and Roxas following in pursuit, the shrill sound of sirens following as the mass of people began to hurriedly move together in a wave of panic.

The noise inside didn't seem to bother the two, though. In the dark parking lot they both ran, the blonde chasing after the redhead, never really seeming to catch up to him. "Axel, wait!" he choked out, almost out of breath from running, but keeping up his pace nonetheless. They were in the middle of nowhere, anyway. Not like Axel could run away from him for long.

"Hey, hey!" Axel called. He flagged down someone who was just about to leave, the couple starting up their car and ready to pull out of the parking lot. He slammed into the car's back passenger side, working the handle of the door. The people inside looked terrified at the sudden intrusion, their own fingers not fast enough to hit the locks before Axel had a chance to get the door open and hop inside.

"Please, just get me out of here!" he begged. Tears were dripping from his face, the redhead's intimidating demeanor dissipating before the couple's eyes, and they couldn't help but feel sorry for him. Then noticing the blonde who had been following Axel, they nodded, and with a click from park to reverse the car backed up and then clicked again into drive before speeding away.

"Axel!" Roxas screamed before doubling over, feeling exhausted and sick. The alcohol swished in his stomach, the blonde now able to feel it churning back and forth as he bent forward. He could feel it coming back up his throat and out of his body and he vomited on the spot, the taste of the unknown substance he had consumed earlier flooding his senses.

Feeling his knees buckle, he sank to the ground, the concrete digging into his skin from his pants. He could feel the rocks and harshness of the earth as he regained his senses and feeling himself begin to sober up from the experience. His mouth was dry as he tried to breathe normally, the taste of vomit and alcohol still fresh on his tongue as he let out a cough, breathe in, breathe out, cough, repeat.

How could he let Axel slip away from him again? "Damnit!" he thought, his fist pounding against the ground in frustration. He had been so damn stupid, letting his guard down like that for even a second. No wonder Axel had run away. He had been such a dumbass. The coughing subsided as he spent his time on the ground, thoughts moving through his head as fast as speeding cars. No way he could let something like that happen again. From now on, his mind had to be on one thing and one thing only.

Picking himself up off the ground, he tried to spit the nasty taste out of his mouth. Surely there would be another bus stopping and heading out of here fairly quickly. He could get far away from this place and back to the task at hand.

Or, so he thought. The bar had been in complete disarray and panic when he had left, and while things were finally calming down, he could feel the tension in the air. Pushing the door back open, he slowly stepped inside, one foot taking a small step in front of the other, noticing the dirty glares the people were giving him for their evening disturbance. The eyes he really had to worry about, however, were the glaring daggers from the man he had had a friendly encounter with earlier.

"Well," he said, approaching the pink haired man he had kissed at the bar, pulling out most of the money he had left and setting it on the bar, not worrying whether it was too much or too little, "it's been a blast, but I really need to head out of here."

"You are not going anywhere."

The blonde turned to look at the pink haired man quizzically, at first letting out a small laugh before it took in the seriousness of his tone and facial expression. Roxas quickly converted his laugh into a cough before responding with a, "No, no, I really should. I um…think I left something on at home…like the oven or the lamp or something…"

"Now come on, babe," the pink haired man said, his icy cold expression holding an element of seduction. "You don't think you were going to come on all hot like that and think you were just leaving like that, right?"

"Um…yeah, that was exactly what I had in mind."

"No, really," the pink haired man said sweetly, his fingers gently brushing over Roxas's, touching them ever so slightly. "I know this night didn't go quite as you or I would have planned…"

"No, I mean it," Roxas scoffed, pulling his hand away quickly. "All that from before was…I mean, I was drunk and…"

"And I think we should continue, right?"

Roxas couldn't believe this! Sure, he had come onto this guy rather…strong, but he had taken it back and rejected him, right?

"C'mon, baby…"

"Excuse me?" he yelped rather loudly, his pitch going a bit higher. By now the other people in the bar were staring at the two.

"**I know what you must be thinking, you're not right. You should know I'm not your baby not tonight. I never was the kind of guy to trip and fall in love."**

"Really?"

"**The kind to say enough is not enough."**

"That's not the impression I got…"

" **The touchy, feely co-dependent kind. I like the feeling but I'm not on cloud nine."** At the look the pink haired man gave him, one of complete disbelief and irritation, Roxas turned around to get the hell out of the bar, only to had himself stopped when the other man had grabbed his wrist.

"**You love it, you hate it, you think it, you say it,"** he turned back around to face the man, a cocky expression that asked him if he really wanted to leave stretching across his face. Of course, Roxas was totally turned off by this, and a bit tired of this argument. **"You want it, you need it, I tell you but you don't believe it. What were you expecting?"**

"Well…"

"**Another lullaby? Are you kidding? You must be high!"**

"Only high on you," the pink haired man answered back, his hand reaching for Roxas. It went to the top of his head, where he gently twirled a small strand of golden locks. Roxas immediately pulled away, those curls slipping away from the other man's fingertips.

"**You must be high 'cause it was just one kiss!"**

Roxas was finally out of his grasp, ready to leave the bar. He took a few more swift strides to the door, quick footsteps following behind him, the man behind him not ready to let him go.

"What'll it take for you to stay, babe? Flowers? Candy? Anything? I can get them for you, y'know."

Candy and flowers? What did he look like, some shallow little girl?

"**I don't need your flowers, they'll just go to waste."**

"Fine, candy then."

"**I don't want your candy 'cause I don't like the taste. There never was the possibility I'd stick around."**

"Fine, we'll go somewhere else."

"**But my intention was to let you down."**

"Seriously?" the other guy gasped, finally seeming to get the hint that Roxas wasn't interested.

"**I never was the kind of person good at playing house. You want it, you need it, you think it, you say it, you want it, you need it, I tell you but you don't believe it. What were you expecting? Another lullaby, are you kidding? You must be high! You must be high 'cause it was just one kiss!"**

Totally shocked, the pink haired man fell to his knees in disbelief. He had never been rejected before, and never before like this! The young blonde's constant protesting made him…furious.

Of course, Roxas saw the sudden movement, and rolled his eyes at the other man. Going back towards him, he squatted down so he was eye-to-eye with him. He'd let him know exactly how much he didn't want to be with him.

"**Everything about you makes me scream!"** Roxas said, watching the expression of the man's face to make sure he got everything he was saying. Getting up, he went to turn back towards the door and then took another glance at the pink haired man. **"Be a man and get up off your knees! I'm trying to say this in the nicest way." **Roxas was starting to leave again, now only inches from the door.

Of course, the man scrambled to his feet at that. He tried to make a grab for the blonde again, but this time Roxas had heard him coming, and moved away before the man could get another chance to touch him.

"**What were you expecting? Another lullaby, are you kidding? You must be high!"**

Turning around, he finally had the actual door in front of him. Letting out a sigh of release, Roxas felt the knob of the door in his grasp. He felt the refreshing chill of the night air wash across his face; the chill that only moments ago brought a lot of unwelcome negative emotions was now a force driving him to move forward.

And yet there was that hand on his shoulder stopping him again. _"Fine, one last time,"_ he thought.

"**What were you expecting? Another lullaby, are you kidding?" he shook the man off, ignoring the deadly glare that he was now facing. "You must be high! You must be high 'cause it was just one kiss!"**

He hurried out the door once he was finally free of the man. He needed to take the next bus out and find a place to stay; this had been an eventful evening, but he wanted to get far away from this place and plan his next move. He came to a stop at the sign that signaled where the bus would be meeting him. He really didn't care if he had to wait outside in the middle of the night when it was cold, because he'd rather be here than back in that shithole of a bar with…

"Hey! I said wait!"

Fuck, was this lunatic still following him?

"Listen, I already told you, so I'm not going to tell you again!"

Of course, at this response, the pink haired man laughed. Roxas had his backed to him, intent on not acknowledging him. "Of course, I heard you. I just, y'know, thought maybe you'd want to know where Axel had gone…"

At these words, however, he froze. He didn't want to give himself away, but he also didn't want to give in to the man from earlier. So he just stood in place, completely silent.

"Funny, though, that you're looking for him. After running away from your fiancé and such. Wouldn't think that you'd ditch such a pretty woman for some floozy of a redhead, eh, Roxas?"

How did this guy know his name? He'd never told him, had he? He honestly couldn't remember what else he had done when he was drunk besides the kiss.

"Y'know, they're looking for you. The police, I mean."

"What for? I didn't do anything wrong. People back out of marriages at the last minute all the time."

"Something about robbery and emotional distress and all that jazz."

"Robbery?"

"So you are the Roxas they're talking about on the news?"

Shit, he'd fallen right into that.

"What do you want?"

"Oh, nothing really. You've only broken my heart," he dramatically began, Roxas rolling his eyes in response before the other man got serious, "and scared off my new employee in the past hour."

So Axel had started working there? "What, you want me to take his place or something?"

"You could do that."

"And be a stripper? Hell no."

"Or I could call you in. Think how pleased everyone will be to see you! Think how afterwards you'll never get the chance to go and find Axel ever again! Oh, sound like the perfect happy ending!"

Roxas let out a sigh of frustration. So now he was on the run from the cops as well? Perfect. And if he didn't do what this man asked, then he'd be caught and poof! There goes everything. Of course, he could just try running…

"Don't even think about it, kid. I'd be on you faster than you could say 'Oh shit!' and the police would be here before you could even think about what could have happened if you took this offer."

There wasn't any other way out of this. Roxas's only option at this point was to give in. He turned back to the pink haired man, taking a few steps back toward the place he wanted to be the farthest away from at this point. His shoulders heaved as he let out another sigh. "Only the dancing, right?"

"Well, we'll see."

He was about to protest, but redrew his words. Roxas really had no other choice. "Fine."

"Great," the pink haired man said, extending his hand out to shake on it. Roxas couldn't believe what he was about to do, but He withdrew his from his pockets and met the others, feeling the tight grasp as he gave his word to remain there and take up the job Axel had just left.

"Your shift starts in twenty minutes, sweetie," the other man said, letting his hand go and turning back towards the bar, a smirk spread across his face. "See you inside."

And the two walked back into Royal Garden, the strip bar owned by Marluxia Rosemund, who'd Roxas had just shaken hands with.

TBC

**-So there you have it. The beginning of Act II. The mysterious pink haired man is indeed Marluxia. Shocking! And Roxas is going to become a dancer! Woot woot! See, I get mostly ones from tips anyway, so now I have something to spend them on; Stripper Roxas! Lol, actually, I was going to get a pet turtle over break, but that's a different story…**

**So here is a preview of the next chapter, which is all about Axel! Huzzah!**

_**Axel bent over at the waist, still on his knees, so that his head was touching the ground. Godamnit, he told himself he wouldn't cry anymore over this. He knew that being with Roxas had been a mistake, and that it shouldn't have happened, but it wasn't worth beating himself up over anymore. He had know that he would be too much for Roxas and that expecting anything after their lovemaking that evening would be too much to ask from the younger man. "I tear you down I'll make you bleed eternally." **_

_**He was able to imagine himself and the sorry state he was in. How Roxas had found him like that, and how after the blonde had run away from him and hurt him so many times, he had finally done the same in return. "Can't help myself from hurting you when it's hurting me."**_

_**His fists met the ground as he pounded them in frustration. "I don't have wings!" he exclaimed, "To fly with me won't be easy. 'Cause I'm not an angel," he felt himself shake at this, admitting it to himself finally, that he wasn't going to be good enough to be with Roxas. The tears that had been building were finally able to break free, the first one trickling down his cheek, more soon to follow. "I'm not an angel."**_

**So yes, there is a small snippet from the next chapter. Hopefully I can get that one out plus one more over the remainder of break. **

**Ah, and I actually wanted to ask about the whole turtle thing. I decided to let the kids that I worked with to name it, but they threw a slew of names at me, so I was able to narrow it down to four of them. I was just going to ask friends and reviewers and random people on Omegle to help me pick from these four: Squirt, Momo, DJ, and Rockstar. So please do help me decide on it! Anyway, read and review, over and out! -Nibzo-**


	7. AII S2: Dirty Work

**-Ah! And here I wanted to work on this a bit more before break ended. And I started the semester…last week! **

**But…I do kind of have a legitimate reason. I realized after writing the next scene (I'm Not An Angel, for those who read the preview from last time) that there was a song missing. Looking back at my notes, I noticed that I had given you guys the wrong information. I'm Not An Angel is not the song in this scene. I skipped one. Oops.**

**So I had to re-write this whole next scene for you. Because I skipped it. Also, I went back and changed the name of the bar. All I really did was add another word. For short, I guess it could still be Garden. But the fact that the new name fit into the song really well was actually marvelous. **

**So yeah, done with the chit-chatting. I'm sure you've all been waiting for the next scene. So here we go!**

**Disclaimer: Do not own Kingdom Hearts. Do not own songs. Do not own Halestorm. Want to own a Packer jersey…because we're goin' to the Super Bowl…oh yeaaaaaah!-**

If walking back into Royal Garden was supposed to help ease any of the blonde's nerves, it didn't. He felt them twisting inside at the events that was transpire from the deal he had made with Marluxia. All of those eyes on him, the audience members thinking of him as their sexual toy and imagining the things they'd do with him was making him want to vomit again. Of course, he had no other option, so he might as well stick with the hand fate had dealt him.

Besides, Roxas was out of money anyway. A few nights of this couldn't hurt to add to the funds in his wallet. He'd be in and out in a flash and then continue his pursuit of the redhead.

"So…" Roxas began, trailing behind Marluxia as the taller walked in to give him the grand tour. "Dancing…"

"You bet. We give you some backup music, it can be your choice or we'll select something for you. You can select a costume in the back. I'll show you where to go for all that."

"No individual costumes or anything?"

Marluxia laughed. "Well, as my mother always told me, 'Sharing is caring'." Roxas couldn't help but cringe; this place seemed like a dump as it was. "Don't worry, kid…"

"I told you; I'm not a kid."

"Right, right. Don't worry, Roxas; we're all pretty clean around here, and the costumes go in for a washing every once a week, so you should stay fit, healthy, and sexy!"

"Once…a week?"

"Eh, give or take. Hey, no one said this job was glamorous."

"Obviously."

The two stepped behind a lacy curtain that led to the back where the prepping took place. It was dimly lit, and the few lights there were gave off a reddish tint that gave the place a seductive, secretive aura.

"And here we are; the back of the house. Over here to the right are the rooms for applying makeup and dressing up," he held his hand out to the right, gesturing towards one of the open rooms. Roxas looked inside and saw the basics of a dressing room; a mirror, clothes and makeup strewn everywhere, some vanities…

"And, of course, the rooms to the left, for," Marluxia intentionally coughed, then grinned widely, "dressing down." Roxas didn't like the way he had suspiciously coughed and smiled like that, and there was a room towards the end of the hall that was open. He marched towards it, leaving the pink haired man standing at the other end, intent on finding out why there needed to be two separate rooms for getting dressed and undressing.

Of course, what he found he didn't like. The left rooms actually contained a lot of the same things; vanities, mirrors, and clothes everywhere being some of the similarities. But there were also numerous candles, and, towards one wall, a king-sized bed. Clearly, the strewn clothes on the floor served a different purpose. Taking in the different atmosphere, he didn't even want to know what was in the drawers.

"Oh hell no."

"What? I think it makes the place look…comforting and inviting! Just what the customer needs!"

"You told me it would just be the dancing!"

"And I said we'll see!"

"You're whoring out your employees! That's illegal!"

But he seemed to have a comeback for everything. "And you're a fugitive! Really, I think in this case, two wrongs should make a right."

He cringed at that word. Fugitive. The fact that he was on the run was the power that Marluxia had over him. Noticing his discomfort, Marluxia sighed. "I'll cut you a deal. First few days, maybe a week, I'll give you the look but no touch law. You'll just dance. Though I can't guarantee what'll happen after that."

Better than nothing. "Fine. Deal." The blonde huffed, which just brought out a chuckle from the taller. "Face it, Roxas. You're in my world now. And hey, there's some shady stuff in this business."

And with that, Marluxia turned around. A sudden thud, however, stopped him from exiting the back rooms, just as he had put his hand on the padded door to the bar. Turning around, he couldn't help but let out a chuckle; the naïve little blonde was in such a stupor that he had fallen to his knees, to him an actual picture of how low the boy must have sunken. Turning around, he couldn't help but feel a need to maybe rub it in; just to make sure that the life he was going to live from this moment on would seem more real; that all this information would stick.

"**Get on your knees and let the games begin," **he sauntered back over towards Roxas, his long strides bringing him close enough to recognize the trembling in the knelt–down figure. Stopping right in front of him, he gestured to himself, as the ultimate authority figure in this world. **"Bow to your queen and I will crown your head."**

"'**Cause I can make you every inch a king,"** he knelt down to the boy, a finger gently cupping his cheek as he whispered to him. As quickly as he had gone down to comfort the boy on his position, he got up and turned back around. **"Before I do, tell me, tell me what's in it for me."**

Again, Marluxia gestured to himself. **"I need someone young, willing, and able," **he turned back around this time pointing to Roxas, who had finally gotten off of his knees and looked intensely at the pink-haired man, a scowl that tried to mask the evident fear, **"you need someone old enough to know better. I want you to do my dirty work. Do my dirty work."**

The walls seemed to be chanting in tandem with Marluxia's words, as if they were humming their own little tune in the background; the noise from the dancer that was already on stage creating an eerie message of its own to follow the pink haired man's words. **"Do my dirty work. Do my dirty work,"**

Almost as if on-cue, one of the female works could be heard through one of the closed doors on the left, her screams of pleasure, whether real or not, transcending the thin walls and echoing in the tight hallway, **"Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah c'mon!"**

Roxas grimaced at the sound, feeling dirty already for unintentionally listening in on a part of life so intimate and private. Looks like it wasn't too private here though.

"**Let me be your labor of love,"** he heard Marluxia chime from behind, the taller man gently curling his fingers around the boy's shoulders as he whispered in his ear. It made Roxas gulp; his fake defiant scowl from early wiped from his face as fear had totally taken over. Marluxia could sense that quick change of emotion, and he was thriving off of it. He backed away, removing his hands, giving the blonde a little sense of ease. **"My Royal Garden needs a hired hand. Plant your seeds, darlin'**," as he walked away, he gestured his hand to the side as if shrugging something off, **"my roses are in your hand."**

"**I need someone young willing and able. You need someone old enough to know better," **he was now walking towards the backroom exit, back towards the bar. Roxas now found himself following the man, his feet unwillingly keeping up behind him. He didn't want to be left behind in this sleazy hallway by himself. **"I want you to do my dirty work. Do my dirty work,"** as he opened the door the music from the stage became louder, the slurred "ohs" in the music going up and down. **"Domy dirty work. Do my dirty work."**

Again, almost on cue, a woman came through the door, leading a tired, drunk businessman by his tie, seductively smiling at him. Roxas felt himself suppress the urge to vomit at the overweight, balding man slobbering over the vixen leading the way, only interested in him for his money. Her sultry voice whispered him as she led him to an open room, **"Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah c'mon."**

After those two had cleared the hallway, Marluxia led the blonde outside of the backroom, holding the door open for him when crossing the threshold from the dressing hall to the bar. The now topless woman on the stage smiled and waved to the audience, the claps and cheers from the audience resonating throughout the bar as she slipped back behind the curtain after her performance. Marluxia then turned around, this time stretching his arms out, as if to encompass everything that Royal Garden possessed and stood for. **"Do my dirty work. Do my dirty work. Do my dirty work. Do my dirty work; yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah c'mon!"**

And then, it seemed that the whole place had begun chanting along with the owner, Roxas suddenly feeling overwhelmed that he was going to be swallowed and consumed by this new world. **"Do my dirty work. Do my dirty work," **screamed half of them, while the others chanted along, **"Yeah! Yeah! Yeah, c'mon yeah!"**

"**Do my dirty work, do my dirty work."**

"**Yeah!"**

"**Do my dirty work! Do my dirty work!"**

And then, just as everyone seemed to have gotten together, chanting and hooting and hollering in unison in order to drown Roxas in the sound and action, it all stopped. The blonde blinked, and thought perhaps it had all been in his head; for the patrons and employees of Royal Garden were once again focused on their own tasks and ventures. It was if nothing had ever happened, and it was just Marluxia standing in front of him. The background noise seemed fading and distant now, too.

"Looks like you're up in five, kid," Marluxia said, breaking Roxas from the brief silence that had taken over his thoughts. The taller man gave the blonde a pat on the back, grinning at him wickedly. "You know where everything is, so go back there and hustle that cute lil' rear back on up, ya hear?"

A pause, and then a hesitant nod from the blonde. He had to do what he had to do. "Great; good thing you understand. Well," Marluxia said, removing his hand from the blonde's back as he began to walk away, "break a leg, kiddo."

TBC

**-So, no scene preview this time. Because the one I gave you last time is actually the true next scene for this one. My bad. But if I give you any more from I'm Not An Angel, you'll basically have read the whole next scene. Because the song is kind of short. The good news for you though is that all I need to do is start on the scene after that for a preview and then I can post it! So most likely you'll get it sooner than normal!**

**Boy, this scene was such a doozy at first. I was all, "Wtf, how do I put in the 'yeah yeah yeah' lines that keep appearing?" But after I came up with the initial idea I was rather pleased at how everything turned out. Get Marluxia to start the song was kind of challenging, too. But I was finally able to come up with something that transitioned and made sense without being too corny.**

**Anyway, as I stated before, Packers and going to the Super Bowl! Aksjakdjsakdj! I'm excited and will most definitely be watching it this weekend…if I don't work. I guess that's all from me this time. Well, read and review, over and out! -Nibzo-**


	8. AII, Sc3: I'm Not An Angel

**-Ah! Sorry for such the long time between updates! I have some really horrible news; my computer crashed! It's been in pretty bad shape for awhile, and when I was trying to backup my documents it stopped loading right in the middle and just went kaput! **

**And I had thought all my documents were all gone for the time being, at least until I got them all backed up and transferred over to another computer. That would include this scene. But when I looked on the flash drive that I was putting all the documents onto to my surprise it had still backed up half of the things I wanted! Including this scene and the next one. So this story doesn't have to go on hiatus for another two weeks or so. **

**Or, so I thought when I originally uploaded this chapter. Because all of last week there was the whole site trafficking error that made attaching new chapters to stories impossible in high frequented areas. Including the Kingdom Hearts section.**

**So that explains my absence. Please forgive me (or at least forgive me for the week where not uploading was out of my control). So, so, so sorry! Let's move right along.**

**Disclaimer: Do not own Kingdom Hearts. Do not own Halestorm. Simple as that.-**

It was late. Axel had just gotten back to the sleazy motel room he had rented before heading to look for work. The faded light and disgusting, stain covered yellow wallpaper was the only place he could afford at the moment, and he would possibly have to move again, after running out of Royal Garden like that yelling, "I quit."

But it wasn't as if he had been expecting him to walk through the doors like that. It had totally caught him off guard, and when he saw Roxas making out with Marluxia, his new boss, he thought that perhaps his heart had been hit by a bus. He let out a really small laugh thinking back to it and how he had escaped, randomly jumping into the car of some random strangers and telling them to drive him back to this place. He must have scared the shit out of them.

But his laugh quickly faded to a sigh as he was reminded of exactly why he had done that in the first place. Why did this keep happening to him? I was bad enough that Roxas had run away from him all those years ago after he had had the best night of his life. Or when he was able to finally see him after all those years, and how he had suddenly bolted then, too.

He sat down on the bed, which let out a string of creaky protests to the added weight. Sighing again, he leaned his head into his hands in disbelief. Fate had a really weird way of bringing people back into your life. For the redhead, the current string of events was just too much for his aching heart to bear.

He had to go even farther away. This was all a mistake, and he needed to forget about Roxas and move on with his life. If only…if only things had never escalated that night! How could he have been so stupid?

"**You made a mistake on the day that you met me and lost your way."** Axel got up from his bed and reached out, almost thinking that Roxas was there in front of him. **"You saw all the signs, but you let it go,"** his fists clenched, those vibrant green eyes once so full of life yet now dulled from the emotional trauma of the past few years closing slowly. Perhaps if his eyes were shut, he could pretend that Roxas was there in front of him, right now. **"You closed your eyes."**

Quickly opening them, his vision of the small blonde in front of him faded. He was facing the mirror on the old, chipped up bureau, the cracks in the mirror almost representing Axel's previous flawed conception of life and himself. **"I should have told you to leave 'cause I knew all the time you couldn't handle me,"** his head quickly snapped away from the mirror, not wanting to look at it for a second longer. Turning his back to it, he again headed to his bed, but didn't move to sit down quite yet. Instead, he felt himself sink to his knees, eyes once again shut to visualize the blonde in front of him. **"But you're hard to resist when you're on your knees begging me."**

Axel bent over at the waist, still on his knees, so that his head was touching the ground. Godamnit, he told himself he wouldn't cry anymore over this. He knew that being with Roxas had been a mistake, and that it shouldn't have happened, but it wasn't worth beating himself up over anymore. He had know that he would be too much for Roxas and that expecting anything after their lovemaking that evening would be too much to ask from the younger man. **"I'll tear you down. I'll make you bleed eternally." **

He was able to imagine himself and the sorry state he was in. How Roxas had found him like that, and how after the blonde had run away from him and hurt him so many times, he had finally done the same in return. **"Can't help myself from hurting you when it's hurting me."**

His fists met the ground as he pounded them in frustration. **"I don't have wings!"** he exclaimed, **"To fly with me won't be easy. 'Cause I'm not an angel,"** he felt himself shake at this, admitting it to himself finally, that he wasn't going to be good enough to be with Roxas. The tears that had been building were finally able to break free, the first one trickling down his cheek, more soon to follow. **"I'm not an angel."**

Lifting himself up off from his knees, he figured crying on the ground like a girl wouldn't do him any good. **"Hate being that wall that you hit when you feel like you gave it all,"** he said, wiping the first tears that had fallen in his confession to himself. In a way, he did see himself as a wall. Roxas kept coming and going into his life, and it was almost like the blonde wouldn't be able to move until Axel, the wall, was moved. Until then, the blonde would keep colliding into him, the past resurfacing for both of them whenever their eyes met. "**I keep taking the blame," **he whispered, taking his realization to heart, **"when we both know that I'll never change."**

"**I'll tear you down,"** he clenched his eyes, his teeth, his fists, as he once again lamented over the torment he was causing the blonde by being that wall preventing him from moving forward, **"I make you bleed eternally. Can't help myself," **smirking, it coming to him that it wasn't only the blonde suffering from his actions, **"from hurting you when it's hurting me. I don't have wings; to fly with me won't be easy."** He shook his head, fists lowering as his fingers stretched back out. **"'Cause I'm not an angel. I'm not an angel."**

"**I wasn't always this way,"** he voiced his thoughts, remembering the days before Roxas, before strip clubs and crime and all things wrong. Back to the time when he was just a regular kid growing up in suburbia. He carried around a picture of him and his old friends to remind him every day of the mistakes he had made. It went with him wherever he went, and that included his sudden escape. In a frame on a nightstand in his motel room it stood, staring back and him as a constant reminder. A few steps across the small motel room and he was facing it; the tall, lanky blonde sticking out his tongue and the short, stubborn blunette swatting at him in an attempt to make him behave. And Axel in the middle, giving the two rabbit ears as he cheekily smiled at the camera.

He picked up that picture, ran his fingers against the glassy surface. They lingered at the familiar faces of his friends, and for a short moment, he smiled. **"I used to be the one with the halo."**

That smile too faded quickly, as he turned around, placing the picture facedown on the desk**. "But that disappeared when I had my first taste and fell from grace. It left me,"** he gestured to his environment; the small, unkempt motel room a symbol of his current state, **"in this place."**

His pacing and heavy thinking had left him exhausted. He had resolved to start packing his things back up and head out, so that he could get even farther away. But what really was he running from? And…why was the blonde chasing him in return?

That really did leave him wondering. His initiative to just running hit a staggering halt when he thought of that. Was there that small possibility that the blonde felt the same way? That Roxas was really chasing him in an attempt to get him back?

He stopped, really wondering if what this meant was possible. He was the boy's sole tormentor, the one that haunted him night and day and prevented him from living his life. But the fact that Roxas could really be in love with him was a different concept he had never really thought about. **"Now I'm starting to think,"** he stopped, but then continued, thinking positively, **"that maybe you like it."**

"**I'll tear you down. I make you bleed eternally,"** he repeated, yet this one thought of Roxas actually wanting him stayed. **"Can't help myself from hurting you when it's hurting me. I don't have wings; to fly with me won't be easy."** But then again, all this negative thinking was worthless if there was just that sliver of hope.

"'**Cause I'm not an angel. I'm not an angel,"** he voiced, as loud as he could, so that perhaps it'd get through to him. Because this sliver of hope was just that, and was too small for him to put his broken heart on the line for anymore.

"**I'm not angel, I'm not an angel!"** he cried, repeating it to himself to get it through his thick skull. He felt himself beginning to tear up again at the thought. That one glimmer of hope was obstructing his negative feelings, and was making him rethink himself.

"**I'm not an angel,"** he cried, feeling them starting to fall once again. **"I'm not an angel."**

"_But then again…who is?"_

With this thought in mind, and with that small hope, he was able to wipe his tears and make a final decision. Perhaps it wouldn't hurt to stay for just a little bit longer.

TBC

**-Alright, so after this I had planned on three more chapters. Three more songs on the cd, y'know. Depending on how much I write will determine if I divide them out initially how I had planned. Though I guess the length of them hasn't really stopped me in the past.**

**Anyway, news from me, I guess…**

**Packers won the Super Bowl. And Clay Matthews is a god.**

**I quit one of my jobs. Boo for less income, hooray for having weekends and holidays back**

**I'll have a new computer shortly. Just need the software and to get some anti-virus placed on it and I won't have to sit at public computers typing away ferociously and feeling awkward.**

**Scene Preview**

_**He had to have Roxas. He just had to. And he had the upper hand. With this in mind, he handed Roxas a wad of bills after his evening performance, the sweaty blonde staring at the cash blankly as he breathed in and out in an attempt to catch his breath.**_

"_**What's this for?" he asked between pants.**_

"_**From your audience, of course. Or rather, a member of the audience who wants to spend a bit of time with you."**_

_**With that, the blonde's eyes grew wide. Fuck, which one was it? There were so many of them he hadn't had time to look. Though the majority of them were balding, overweight office men, it could have been anyone. **_

"_**Take the money. I'm not doing it."**_

"_**My dear," Maluxia purred, Roxas instantly glaring at those words, "you do not have a choice. Now I told you that your first couple of days I would try my best to keep them from coming. But, who could resist? You're so…so," he slowly reached a hand to Roxas, the blonde slightly cowering back in fear, but determined to keep that icy look upon his face. Marluxia cupped the boy's chin, his fingers gently grazing across his skin. "Irresistible."**_

**And there you have it. Hope that everyone is having a good week and has a terrific weekend and I'll try to get the next chapter up in 1-2 weeks. **

**Read and review, over and out! -Nibzo-**


	9. AII, S4: Nothing to Do With Love

**-Hello ff dot net! Guess what?**

**Yes, you are correct. It's summer! I'm done for the semester! Yahoo!**

**Well, hopefully that means more writing. Though with the next chapter already written, there really is only one more to write. So I will hopefully have this done within the next month, at the very most by the end of the summer. I know I've been slow and stuff with posting, but when things get ridiculously busy I really can't help it. And the other part of the time I am just too lazy to write. **

**So you see the lame excuses, but I'm sure you all just want your next act. So here you are. **

**Disclaimer: Do not own Halestorm or Kingdom Hearts. But how cool would it be if I did and could actually turn this into a musical? I mean, Avenue Q has puppet sex, so Broadway shouldn't mind stripping and blowjobs, right? Right?-**

It had been close to two weeks that Roxas had started working at Royal Garden. And while the job at first had been considered a dirty one when initially accepting, Roxas found that perhaps there were some perks. The money was pretty nice, and he got a great workout from prancing around the stage and attempting to be sexy. Not to mention his boss had made him completely invisible, and while the police were searching for him on the outside, as long as he was inside Royal Garden than he was completely safe.

And , true to his word, Marluxia kept a "look but don't touch" policy for Roxas the first couple of days. However, he seemed to forget to tell the customers that this code would break after a few days, and therefore everyone saw the blonde as an object of lust that they could stare and drool over without actually touching. Another perk that Roxas saw with a job he had been reluctant to take in the first place.

But while the customers, who knew of the carnage that could ensue if they broke one of the club owner's rules, didn't so much a try to make a pass at the blonde, this didn't stop Marluxia himself from trying to seduce his newest employee. Roses, candy, extra money, all of these and more were offered to Roxas as gifts to get him to change his mind. But no matter how much was given, Roxas was consistent in the "No"s, "No way"s, and "You must be out of your fucking mind"s.

Of course, Marluxia wasn't going to take this attitude for much longer. At first he had thought the blonde was just being shy, coy, playing hard to get, any excuse he could come up with. But once the constant refusals became daily, the pink-haired man thought for sure he was going to lose his mind.

He had to have Roxas. He just had to. And he had the upper hand. With this in mind, he handed Roxas a wad of bills after his evening performance, the sweaty blonde staring at the cash blankly as he breathed in and out in an attempt to catch his breath.

"What's this for?" he said between pants.

"From your audience, of course. Or rather, a member of the audience who wants to spend a bit of time with you."

With that, the blonde's eyes grew wide. Fuck, which one was it? There were so many of them he hadn't had time to look. Though the majority of them were balding, overweight office men, it could have been anyone.

"Take the money. I'm not doing it."

"My dear," Maluxia purred, Roxas instantly glaring at those words, "you do not have a choice. Now I told you that your first couple of days I would try my best to keep them from coming. But, who could resist? You're so…so," he slowly reached a hand to Roxas, the blonde slightly cowering back in fear, but determined to keep that icy look upon his face. Marluxia cupped the boy's chin, his fingers gently grazing across his skin. "Irresistible."

Roxas immediately turned his head away to avoid any more of his bosses touch, smacking away the hand that touched him so intimately. Marluxia disapprovingly clicked his tongue a couple of times, backing off a bit as he tried to reason with the blonde. "Well, I mean, I guess you can have it your way. Go ahead, decline his offer, make him upset. But don't come crying to me when a little birdie tell him who you really are," his voice was getting increasingly louder with each word, various people in Royal Garden now starting to stare, "Roxas Sai…"

Marluxia was instantly silenced with two hands over his mouth; the blonde had not liked how his boss thought it was acceptable to shout his name at the top of his lungs. "Cut it out!" he hissed, and he could feel Marluxia smirking through his hands. Removing them, he sighed, finding no way to get out of it, but not wanting to actually say he'd do it quite yet.

"Y'know…there could be a way around this whole thing. I mean, none of my customers would dare try to take something that is mine."

"I've already told you no probably a thousand times," Roxas muttered. "What makes you keep asking over and over?"

"Well, it's certainly possible that I've taken…a special liking to you," Marluxia said. "And with the rules as they are now anyway, me giving you special treatment anyway, the whole club thinks there's something going on between us."

"You and me? Fat chance."

Marluxia glared at the boy's back. He was getting a bit angry with Roxas's cocky attitude and constant refusals. "Now why do you have to be so godamn stubborn?" His tone changed immediately, and when Roxas didn't move, he scoffed, throwing his hands in the air. "Fine, have it your way. But your time is up, and now you have to play by the full rules of this game. Sleep with him, for all I care. He's waiting in room 2 for you. Now get moving."

Throwing the wad of bills at the blonde's feet, he turned to storm away. Roxas couldn't help but stand there for a few more moments, reviewing his options and calculating his next move.

Before Marluxia really had a chance to walk away, Roxas choked it out. "Fine." This immediately halted the taller man's steps, who turned his head slightly. "Pardon?"

"I mean, I guess I'd rather…," he had trouble finding his next words, a pause in between them as he chose them carefully, "be yours or whatever than be whoring myself out to random people I've never met. I mean, it's obvious, isn't it?"

"Obvious? Oh?" Marluxia grinned, intrigued. He sauntered back over to the blonde. "And what exactly is obvious?"

"You're in love with me, aren't you?"

His boss was quite taken aback by his words. "Didn't expect you to be so forward," he reached a hand out and played with a lock of the blonde's hair, "Roxy…"

"Don't" he warned, swatting at the hand once again to get it away from him. "Don't call me that."

"So what if I am in love with you, then?"

To which Roxas responded with a laugh. "You really don't get it, do you?" When looking at Marluxia, though, it was clear he was missing something. **"You had your heart set on an angel's kiss. Maybe a taste of this,"** he ran a finger lightly over his own lips. **"Maybe a long white dress and a fistful of flowers."**

"Haha, well maybe that's a little bit much…"

But before Marluxia could say anything else, Roxas had gotten close to him; close enough to sneak his way in-between the pink haired man's arms, his back facing the other man. **"You wrapped your arms around a murderer pretending it didn't hurt,"** and as quickly as the blonde had entrapped himself in his boss's arms, he pushed him away, nearly knocking the taller to the ground. **"Every time I cut you deeper and deeper."**

Marluxia rolled his eyes. Like getting rejected had ever stopped him. **"Hey,"** Roxas yelled at Marluxia, to which the pink-haired man threw a quizzical look at. He was sure that from all of this Roxas was giving him a stern no, just as he always did. **"I'm not the one. I'm not the one. I'm not the one you wanna give your heart to."**

"**I'll give you this; don't think that it's something else,"** Roxas finally spat out, but his glare didn't falter. **"This has got nothing to do with love."**

"**This has got nothing to do with?"** Marluxia asked, grinning from ear to ear.

"**I've begged, you plead, you wanted more than you could keep,"** Roxas explained, trying to get across to his boss that it was only his situation and the pink-haired man's pleading and threats that was getting him into bed. **"This has got nothing to do with love."**

"**This has got nothing to do with?"**

"Right," Roxas assured, **"this has got nothing to do with love."**

Face-to-face with his boss, he switched gears for a second in order to symbolize how he feigned interest at first. Flashing a coy smile, Roxas lightly traced a finger across Maluxia's chin. **"I gave you just enough to paralyze,"** he walked around his boss, finger still in contact with the other's skin, **"thought maybe that could satisfy,"** he was at Marluxia's right shoulder, with which he then gave a push with his hand, not hard enough to send him anywhere or cause damage, but enough to get the taller body to move and jerk in surprise. **"Sometimes I get so bored of you, boy."**

"**Hey!"** Marluxia interjected, pouting his lip and looking wounded at the last comment.

"**I'm not the one. I'm not the one,"** Roxas gestured to himself, **"I'm not the one you wanna give your heart to. I'll give you this; don't think that it's something else,"** the blonde crossed his hands and then pushed them away to signal his disdain and protest of this treatment. **"This has got nothing to do with love."**

"Really?" Maluxia smirked, questioning the blonde's last statement, **"This has got nothing to do with?"**

"Yes!" he shouted, finally feeling that Marluxia was getting it, **"'cause I've begged, you plead, you wanted more than you could keep. But this has got nothing to do with love."**

"**This has got nothing to do with?"**

"**This has got nothing to do with love."** And as the music swelled from on stage, the dancers moving, swaying their lithe body's to the beat, Roxas actually felt like joining them on stage. Perhaps this was the plight of everyone here, all pressured and threatened into sexual relations that was mistaken for actual romance. And for the most part, the guys and gals he worked with put up with it, never actually voicing their opinion, but instead just going with the flow for the extra cash or a favor here and there.

Or, in Roxas's case, for a secret to be kept. But if there was one difference between what was happening in those relationships and the one that Roxas had to establish with his boss, there was going to be one thing that was extremely clear: that there was no romance whatsoever, and that love had nothing to do with what would go on between them.

"**I'm not the one,"** he thought he must be hearing things, because he thought perhaps his coworkers were joining in with him. **"I'm not the one!"** he heard them all chant from the poles, the hung cages, the stage, from the back; it seemed that their voices were all one, and as the music began a crescendo, swelling upward, the secrets of all those selling their soul at this dead-end job were reaching their peak, trying to bust through some invisible roof that contained their true feelings.

"**We'll give you this, don't think that it's something else!"** they all chanted to their "lovers", those sitting in the audience who came every single night to watch them and claim them as their own. Roxas shouting above them all, his lungs sore from his protesting, **"This has got nothing to do with love!"**

All at once, the dancers began chanting with him. **"This has got nothing to do with!"**

"**We've begged, you plead, you wanted more than you could keep. This has got nothing to do with love!"**

"**This has got nothing to do with!"** they were now shouting in the faces of their partners, their protests stirring outrage from the customers. At once they got up and began shouting at the dancers, who were now too busy focusing on backing Roxas up than actually doing their job and arousing the ladies and gentlemen in the crowd. **"This has got nothing to do with love!" **they all chanted, Roxas joining them at the forefront, the cause of all this mayhem. Marluxia was just now realizing the chaos that was going on around him, and immediately left Roxas to try and do some crowd control along with the guards. "This has got nothing to do with?" the patrons of Royal Garden questioned back, anger evident in their sneers. "This has got nothing to do with love!" Roxas yelled, by now a full riot circulating around him, the men and woman paying for services here shouting and clawing at the stage with the dancers egging them on and daring them to come up and actually do something for once. Roxas smirked at the commotion he had caused; Marluxia was off his back for another night, and it seemed that he had done an excellent job of, as his job stated, "stimulating the crowd."

Nodding at his handiwork, he quickly snuck out the backdoor to Royal Garden. He had managed to escape Marluxia's advances for one night, but tomorrow could be a different story, and with him bound here until he could actually figure something out in regards to Axel and his current situation, he couldn't move.

The fights still ensuing inside, Roxas was able to sneak back to his room undiscovered.

TBC

**-This chapter was also kind of a doozy. I mean, Dirty Work was hard to write too, but after I actually came up with it I was all, "Fuck yes, this is awesome, why didn't I think of this earlier!" With this it was all, "What the hell should be going on here, I really don't know."**

**And, as you saw, I changed some of the lyrics to fit this a bit better. The original lyrics were I think what gave me the most trouble, but once I changed a few words here and made sure there were still a good amount of syllables and that it still would sound okay I was satisfied to a certain extent.**

**So here is the chapter preview of what was probably my favorite scene to write and what kind of inspired the whole "Hey, Halestorm is awesome, let's make a musical!" idea.**

**Scene Preview**

_**Roxas was really against it, and therefore made no further attempt to get his feelings across. But then it occurred to him that he could still tell Axel how he felt while on stage without anyone getting too suspicious. After figuring out his master plan, he only needed to prove to himself that he had the balls to do it.**_

_**And so, here he was, two minutes before going on stage, pacing back and forth, pulling at his hair, going back and forth in his mind saying it was a stupid idea, no, it was the only way and it had to be done, God I'm going to look like a fucking idiot, but I need to do this, fuck, fuck, fuck!**_

_**And as the last dancer came backstage after her own performance, he knew his time had come. There wasn't going to be any running away this time. If this was what he needed to do, then so be it. Roxas took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and turned to the red fabric curtain that stood between him and the entire audience.**_

"_**Ladies and gentlemen," the announcer proclaimed, a guitar silently strumming in the background for Roxas's intro. "We have a real treat for you tonight as our next dancer comes onto the stage." Roxas crossed the threshold, moving beyond the curtain and into the darkness that gathered on the stage, no one able to see his body against the extreme blackness the stage was without the lights. "The sultry seduction that this man effortlessly pulls you into will bring you to your knees," the blonde took another deep breath, feeling his heart pound into his chest. "I give you Royal Garden's one and only Roxy!"**_

**Well, there it is. Nothing else to say, so read and review, over and out! -Nibzo-**


	10. AII, S5: I Get Off

**-I don't know why it always takes me so long to update. I always want to when I'm away from my computer and then when I actually get a chance to write I stare at it and wondered why in the hell I wanted to write in the first place.**

**But after this, there is only one chapter left. And I vow to get it in before mid-July. If I don't, then I have no discipline and bring shame and dishonor to my family! **

**And then I think to myself, "Hmmm…shame and dishonor for not writing an M rated fanfic." **

**Yeah…I'm not quite sure how that works out either.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing I write about. - **

After the outbreak and Royal Garden, Marluxia seemed to back off when it came to Roxas. It wasn't as if he was suddenly giving up; hell no, that just wasn't in her personality to suddenly call it quits just like that. But when the pink haired man would try to flirt with the blonde, advancing upon him just as he always had, he would suddenly stop, often midsentence. It was one thing for his boss to just give up, although after the riot he thought it would stop. But to just clam up and walk away was just plain odd.

That was, until finally Roxas noticed why he was acting so strangely.

During one of their conversations before he climbed on the stage to strut his stuff, he caught a glimpse of red from the corner of his eye. Doing a double-take, he allowed himself to try and focus; no way in hell would it really be who he had been pining for all this time; who he secretly wished would come back around. No way this stranger was actually Axel andoh my God, it was!

Roxas nearly had a heart attack, noticing those cold poison green eyes staring daggers in his direction. It made him nervous and slightly scared; this was a different side of the redhead. Marluxia looked back at what the blonde could possibly be staring at and that was where it happened; he paused, ceasing all casual small talk and flirting as he locked eyes with the seemingly seething redhead.

And then he would just cough, dismiss himself, maybe bark an order to the blonde and walk away. Roxas didn't get this change in behavior, and when he looked back to Axel the redhead had just suddenly vanished as quickly as he had appeared. It was rather strange, he thought, but he just dismissed it as a hallucination.

That is, until he got on stage. As the music swayed and the crowd cheered, he spun swiftly around the pole, just as he had been doing for the past month or so. As the dollar bills fell like rain, he peered through the paper green shower and saw him again; this time sitting in the back. He almost got lost in staring, trying to focus on those eyes again. They conveyed a different emotion from what he had seen when conversing with his boss. This time there was another element clouding those pools of poison.

Lust. Want. An animalistic need.

Time seemed to slow down, the voices around him fading into nothing as he just continued looking over at the redhead. Axel was watching him so intently; when had he gotten here in the first place? It wasn't until he was jolted out of his thoughts when he tripped over his feet, almost falling face first onto the stage, stumbling to catch himself as he tried to turn the weird way his body had been forced to turn into a sexy move.

From the cheers in the audience he had apparently done that, though he wasn't entirely sure how that had happened as he continued staring at the back. Axel didn't move throughout his whole performance, but once the song ended and he got another chance to glance back he had disappeared once again.

The first time this happened left Roxas confused. The last time Roxas had seen him had been disastrous, and only a short portion of their time together had been pretty good, with the rest always resulting in one running away from the other. Roxas shrugged it off and called it coincidence; perhaps Axel couldn't run anymore and needed a job to get anywhere farther away.

But after asking around, he found out that this wasn't the first time Axel had been there since his dramatic exit. And the one time Roxas saw him certainly wasn't his last. He began to notice too, that Marluxia's sudden lack of conversation had to do with the ways those green eyes stared so menacingly at the man in charge.

It didn't take long for Roxas to realize what was going on. Axel was pursuing him from a distance, watching him from the back row as he strut around half-naked on a stage. At the beginning, it had felt a bit weird, borderline creepy in fact, having the man he was interested in staring at him with the same look as the customers in the first row.

But after each visit, that feeling was gone, and it wasn't long before Roxas had managed to block out everyone in the crowd except for the redhead. It was like he was giving a private dance for Axel and Axel alone, and as his body swayed and rocked to the music he grew bolder and more comfortable. Axel was noticing as well; the way Roxas's eyes would never falter in his lusty gaze sent chills down the other man's spine. It was like this connection that was slowly being reestablished, and from their intimate staring contests they were getting to know each other, and it was if all of the running and regrets had never happened.

This resulted into someone extremely beneficial. Roxas's shows had grown to the height of popularity at Royal Garden. Men and women alike came to see his performance and in the process he was making a lot more money. This was what he could use to leave this place; to one day sneak into the night and never look back. Of course, now that Axel was here they could run away together, but how to really approach the redhead, who was still somewhat avoiding him, was the real question at hand.

He had to show Axel that he was done running. Since Axel generally appeared just before he started and left just as he was finished, there wasn't any way to get his attention unless it was part of his act. So therefore he would have to announce these feelings to everyone in the establishment while he was still on stage.

Roxas was really against it, and therefore made no further attempt to get his feelings across. But then it occurred to him that he could still tell Axel how he felt while on stage without anyone getting too suspicious. After figuring out his master plan, he only needed to prove to himself that he had the balls to do it.

And so, here he was, two minutes before going on stage, pacing back and forth, pulling at his hair, going back and forth in his mind saying it was a stupid idea, no, it was the only way and it had to be done, God I'm going to look like a fucking idiot, but I need to do this, fuck, fuck, fuck!

And as the last dancer came backstage after her own performance, he knew his time had come. There wasn't going to be any running away this time. If this was what he needed to do, then so be it. Roxas took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and turned to the red fabric curtain that stood between him and the entire audience.

"Ladies and gentlemen," the announcer proclaimed, a guitar silently strumming in the background for Roxas's intro. "We have a real treat for you tonight as our next dancer comes onto the stage." Roxas crossed the threshold, moving beyond the curtain and into the darkness that gathered on the stage, no one able to see his body against the extreme blackness the stage was without the lights. "The sultry seduction that this man effortlessly pulls you into will bring you to your knees," the blonde took another deep breath, feeling his heart pound into his chest. "I give you Royal Garden's one and only Roxy!"

And as the club grew silent the breath that Roxas was holding escaped him as the strumming of the guitar in the background grew louder, drums adding themselves into the mix. A single spotlight stood in front of him, illuminating a small section of the stage, but Roxas knew he couldn't step into it just yet. A little longer, he thought, as he opened his mouth to begin his act.

"**You don't know that I know you watch me every night," **he began, his eyes instantly finding the redhead in the crowd. "**And I just can't resist the urge**," Roxas took a few more steps forward, the light finally hitting him, sending gasps throughout the crowd, **"to stand here in the light."**

"**Your greedy eyes upon me,"** he whispered, a hand running down the somewhat loose leather vest he had chosen for this final performance. The black on top matched the bottoms he had chosen, what seemed to be a pair of leather pants, loose, of course, since he'd need to wiggle his way out of them while on stage. **"And then," **he reached the end of the fabric, black gloves that accented every single curve of his hands, the fabric stretching ever so slightly with the flexing of his hands. He had reached the end of the vest, circling to the middle of his torso, towards the buttons. Roxas pulled at them one-by –one, **"I come undone."**

As he popped the last button he at first clenched the fabric together, preventing anyone in the fabric from seeing the opening he had made to his chest. **"And I could close the curtain," **he slowly let go and the vest opened, revealing his tanned and toned chest, **"but this is too much fun."**

And when he voice grew he jerked forward to yell. **"'Cause I get off on you,"** he screamed, eyes looking right into Axel's, **"getting off on me."** He grabbed his crotch and sensually began rubbing it. He didn't restrain the pure need in his face as he palmed himself through the leather, letting himself become alive. **"Give you want you want, but nothing,"** he removed his hand, the audience whistling and hooting when he had actually pulled off a piece of the leather to reveal that his pants were actually chaps, a good portion of his lower half now visible **"is for free."** He swiftly removed one of the gloves he had on, grabbing it with his fingers and yanking it until his hand was bare. **"It's a give and take," **he threw the small piece aside, not noticing if it went off-stage and into the audience, "**kinda life we make when your line is crossed. I get off! I get off."**

He stepped off stage, shrugging off his opened vest as it fell to the floor among the crowd. Bare-chested, he sauntered over to Axel, trying to make his next actions seem as non-deliberate as possible, like he had just selected some random guy out of the audience for his show. When Axel saw that the predatory look in the blonde's eyes was aimed at him and that he was coming in his direction he inwardly froze, but was able to maintain his still appearance on the outside. **"There's so much left unspoken,"** Roxas began again, aiming his words right at Axel, **"between the two of us." **He stopped right in front of him and grinned before taking a seat in the redhead's lap. **"It's so much more exciting,"** he grabbed the redhead's hands and brought them to his bare sides, one to each part of his body, letting this large hands trace lightly up and down, **"to look when you can touch."**

And then, Roxas dropped the act for a second, conveying the sincerity that Axel had been looking for in his words and actions. In a small whisper, his mouth dancing over the other's ear, he managed to get out the message, **"You could say I'm different, and maybe I'm afraid."**

And then with a sudden thrust their pelvises ground together, Axel closing his eyes and hissing at the contact. Roxas got up after that, resuming his performance. **"But I know how to twist ya to bring you to your knees."**

"**I get off on you,"** Roxas was now back on stage, **"getting off on me. I give you want you want,"** Roxas now took off the other glove in the same fashion he had taken off the first, flinging it aside with the same nonchalance he had used before. **"But nothing is for free. It's a give and take kinda life we make when your line is crossed. I get off! I get off."**

Roxas slowly began to squat, letting his hands go down his legs as he descended to the floor. Going back up his hands did as well, looping into the hem as he wiggled them just a bit down his hips, the opening of the chaps now just above his member, half hard and straining slightly against the black thong he wore. He turned around and slowly began to bend over, his ass sticking in the air, the blonde giving a few shakes as a crowd pleaser. He leaned his head over to his left, the left hand raking up his leg again.

"**But you don't know,"** that hand reaching his waist, him leaning to the right to do the exact same thing, **"what you can't see,"** Roxas began leaning back, thumbs inside the hem of his chaps again, slowly brining them down. The audience didn't seem to notice anything as Roxas sat on the stage, continuing until he was laying down completely. **"Is what I do for you I do for me."**

"**I get off on you,"** Roxas arched his back slightly and then fell back to the floor, **"getting off on me,"** he arched again slightly before falling back down. He arched again and then fully sat up, the hem of his chaps now beneath his ass. **"I give you want you want!" **and then he suddenly kicked them off, the rapid movement of the flying bottoms and him getting back up, only in a skimpy thong covering his now naked frame. The audience whooped in excitement, **"Yeah!"** the majority of them screamed, now freely tossing all the money they had onto the stage.

Roxas bolted for the poll now, swinging around it once with one hand. **"I get off on you getting off on me,"** he wrapped one leg around and climbed slightly, getting himself one or two feet off the ground before letting himself slide back down. **"Give you what you want but nothing is for free."** He then jumped and pushed his weight up, as one of his legs grabbed hold and turned him upside down, the other curling alongside to hold him mid-air. His hands also kept steady in an effort to hold himself.

"**It's a give and take," **using only his hands to hold himself onto the pole, his legs let go and he spread them, **"kinda life we make when your line is crossed,"** he then twirled himself down until he reached the bottom and was sitting on the ground. Pushing his legs up like a windmill he rolled away from the pole, and on his knees in the middle of the stage he began to erotically touch himself, hands raking up and down his body caressing his neck and chest. **"I get off! Yeah I get off!"**

His hands moved faster as the music crescendoed towards its finish, thrusting his hips up and down in time with the beat. **"Yeah I get off!"** One of his hands actually slipped inside the thong and began stroking at his member, the tip of it now showing out the top as it pulsed hard in his hand. **"Yeaaaaaaaaah,"** he held that final note, his lungs and throat aflame, but at that moment he was envisioning Axel and was swallowed hole by the images of the redhead taking him and giving him pleasure that he wasn't even aware existed. The blonde lost himself, even forgetting where he was, and as his whole body twitched in ecstasy as he himself felt he was reaching an actual climax, he pushed the last three words from his mouth, making them sound as sexy and seductive as he could. **"I get off."**

The music died, and instantly the crowd began cheering and whistling, more money being tossed onto the stage as Roxas was brought back to where he actually was, on stage with an audience he didn't even know save for the one person in the back. Looking to Axel he was pleased to see the expression he had gotten out of the redhead.

Finding his job done, all he would need to do now is wait.

TBC

**-One more act left! And you know that if I just posted it that means it's finished or somewhat finished or at least gotten to a part in which I'm satisfied and can work off of later. And that means this musical-fanfiction bastard child is coming to a close.**

**Now, I'm hoping that once I change this from In-Progresss to complete I can get some more reviews. Because as we all know, Reviews+Praise=Happiness for Me. Reviews+Constructive Criticism=Happiness for Me. Reviews+Flame=SADNESS AND RAGE. But oh well, most likely not to happen because when a lot of people want smut they want something quick and dirty, and this would take a good long time to read. So it's perfect to print out and take on a long car/plane/train ride to kill some time, but quick and dirty not so much. Oh well; I can dream, right?**

**ACT PREVIEW**

_**With the coast all clear, Roxas quickly made his way to the curtain separating the dancer's hall from the bar. He knew this was going to be tricky since it was still so full of people, and if he tried to physically run or it seemed like he was in a hurry things would look awfully suspicious. His next plan of action was to stroll nonchalantly through the crowd and out the door where he hoped the redhead would be waiting for him outside.**_

_**Slowly, he put one foot into the bar area and stepped from behind the curtain. No one seemed to notice him as the next dancer was up on stage, and they were so entranced by the seductiveness on stage that they didn't even notice the blond. With a sigh of relief, he continued his steady stride across the floor towards the main exit.**_

_**And then their eyes locked, and Roxas couldn't help but pause for a moment as he stared into those poisonous green orbs. Of course Axel would be able to see through his disguise. But Roxas felt his heart jump when the redhead smiled at him and motioned for him, beckoning him forward as the Axel touched the panels of the wooden door. With a smile back, Roxas took a few more steps, knowing full well that his freedom was right in front of him.**_

_**But those few steps didn't go any further as he felt himself collide with a taller figure, and upon looking up his smile turned into a frown. Of course he would run into Marluxia on his way out. **_

**Of course there's one more conflict! Otherwise it would all be other and I would have no way of using "It's Not You". I mean, after all this buildup he's not going to say he doesn't love Axel (if you've read the lyrics or listened to the songs, which I'm sure a few of you readers have since I've gotten a couple reviews saying Halestorm is winning majorly). **

**So see you next time for the finale. Read and review, over and out! -Nibzo-**


	11. AII, S6: It's Not You & RepriseFinale

**-OH MY GOD.**

**Final chapter.**

**Too excited for notes. Disclaimer starts now. Yadayadayada, do not own, want so bad but never will obtain, blah blah blah imma start now, mmm'kay?-**

Roxas could hear their cheers from backstage, still going strong from his erotic and enticing performance. It had to be his best one yet, and the adrenaline that came from every aspect of his act still hadn't faded away. He felt his cheeks flame as he recalled nearly climaxing on stage, thinking perhaps that he didn't have to go that far.

But seeing the redhead's face from the stage when he had finished…it was amazing. It was almost as if he had been completely forgiven, or at the very least like Axel had gotten the message loud and clear and was in a similar situation. Hopefully this granted the results he was expecting.

As he hastily packed his things in the duffel bag he left with, he couldn't help but fantasize about the life he and Axel would live. After all the running they had done alone they could finally run together, and when they felt safe they could settle down and start a real relationship. Perhaps one day they'd look back and laugh at this and how the mixed feelings and communication mishaps had almost kept them apart when they were destined to be together.

He hurriedly ran to the dressing room and then through the back door where most of the employees had their own room. Nudging the handle he was able to slide the door open and creep inside without catching anyone else's attention. With the performance he just gave no doubt people from all over the club would be looking for him, and he needed to maintain a low profile as possible.

First he headed to the bureau and grabbed his clothes, most of which he had brought when he left Namine. The other blonde was just a distant memory now as he felt a new emotion course through his veins when packing this second time around. Finishing with his undergarments, a few shirts and jeans, he closed the drawers, looking at the top of the desk where his hygiene products and other small necessities were kept. With one skillful motion, he swept the contents of the top into his duffle bag.

Finally, Roxas got down on his knees, looking at the small space underneath the bureau. He reached for the shoebox that he had hidden, and upon grasping the thin cardboard frame smiled and pulled it out from under its hiding place. Cracking the top open again, he was thrilled to see it overflowing with dollar bills of big and small sizes; his hard work while at Royal Garden had certainly paid off. He couldn't imagine the money he had made that evening; that added to what he had been saving would be perfect for starting their new life. He made room at the very top of his duffel bag and squeezed it inside, finally zipping it up and setting it aside. It was ready to go.

Next would be the clothes on his back; slipping off the robe he opted for a pair of jeans, a plain old t-shirt, and his checkered shoes. Slipping on another sweatshirt would help conceal his identity as he tried to escape unnoticed, and with the quick swish of the hood hiding his locks he was all set to leave.

Sneakily, he left his room behind as he re-entered the main dressing room. His quick strides brought his to that door, and upon opening it he looked left and then right, and then again to double-check and make sure the coast was clear. He was hoping that no one would recognize him; he hadn't worn garments like this since first entering the bar, so hopefully none of the employees would be able to see him in a new getup.

With the coast all clear, Roxas quickly made his way to the curtain separating the dancer's hall from the bar. He knew this was going to be tricky since it was still so full of people, and if he tried to physically run or it seemed like he was in a hurry things would look awfully suspicious. His next plan of action was to stroll nonchalantly through the crowd and out the door where he hoped the redhead would be waiting for him outside.

Slowly, he put one foot into the bar area and stepped from behind the curtain. No one seemed to notice him as the next dancer was up on stage, and they were so entranced by the seductiveness on stage that they didn't even notice the blond. With a sigh of relief, he continued his steady stride across the floor towards the main exit.

And then their eyes locked, and Roxas couldn't help but pause for a moment as he stared into those poisonous green orbs. Of course Axel would be able to see through his disguise. But Roxas felt his heart jump when the redhead smiled at him and motioned for him, beckoning him forward as the Axel touched the panels of the wooden door. With a smile back, Roxas took a few more steps, knowing full well that his freedom was right in front of him.

But those few steps didn't go any further as he felt himself collide with a taller figure, and upon looking up his smile turned into a frown. Of course he would run into Marluxia on his way out. Axel paused at the door when he saw what was holding the blond up, a saddened look on his face.

"Babe, that last performance was amazing!" Marluxia exclaimed, eyes lighting up once he saw it was Roxas who had run into him. "Never knew you had so much…" he paused, taking in Roxas's current look, processing it for a second and then choosing to ignore it, "sexiness hidden in that tiny little body of yours."

"Uh…yeah…thanks, I guess."

"Collector is still counting your money in back; you put on such a show and made quite a pretty penny. I'm sure you'll have your wages by the end of the evening, but I wouldn't be surprised if you made a new record."

"Right, now if you excuse me…" the blond began, only to be interrupted again.

"C'mon, let me buy you a drink this time for doing such a great job," Marluxia slung his arms over the blond and led him in the other direction, the new look of hurt carving itself into Axel's features from over by the door. "And y'know," he whispered to him, mouth licking at his ears ever so slightly, "tonight maybe we can talk a bit more about that deal I told you about a couple weeks ago, hmm?"

Roxas felt his plan to run away unraveling and spinning in an unwanted direction with every step he took with his boss. He surely didn't want to go with him, but what choice did he have? He sighed, and turned his head to throw Axel an apologetic look only to be surprised at the look he got back.

It was that of ultimate disappointment. Roxas felt that he couldn't ignore the hurt look in Axel's eye, and truthfully, after all that had happened between them he figured that this was not only the last straw, but also the most painful of all their running away. He was being complacent and settling for Marluxia, and whether it was under blackmail or not, he really couldn't stand the look in the redhead's eyes.

He couldn't do this to him anymore. They had secretly sworn with his dance that he was done running; that both of them were done running. As Marluxia and him neared the bar, the pink haired man still talking rather loudly, he forcefully pulled himself away. "No," he threatened rather loudly, not enough to be considered a scream or a shout, but loud enough that he had attracted the attention of quite a few people around him including Axel, who had just opened the door and was about to leave.

"No?" Marluxia asked back, raising an eyebrow. "No what?"

"I'm not doing this anymore," Roxas said, straightening the duffel that had been pretty much disregarded until now on his shoulder and turning around to leave.

Of course, he knew it wouldn't be that easy. As soon as he was facing the other direction and took a step, Marluxia grabbed his wrist. "I don't think someone in your situation should be doing something this rash, Roxas." He glared daggers at him for a split second before smiling sweetly. "C'mon, now, we've been through this before, so let's just drop the usual and get on with it."

"Uh-uh," Roxas shook his head and more forcefully pulled away, his wrist being freed by his tug. "I'm gone. Call the cops or do whatever you want. It's been so long I bet they don't even care anymore."

But again before he could fully get away he was stopped in his tracks, this time by a hand on his shoulder. Instead of a look of anger though, there was one of pleading. "And you're just going to throw away this relationship we have? This…this…natural chemistry between us?"

"Oh please, there hasn't been any of that! Only you coming onto me and me consistently refusing!"

This time Roxas didn't even get a chance to turn around. With a more fiercer tug than his own, his boss snatched his wrists and pulled him along, though this time it was away from the bar. They were headed back towards the curtain that led to the back, and with each forced step Roxas felt himself growing angrier and angrier until he just couldn't take it anymore.

"I said let go of me!" he reached his opposite hand up and slapped Marluxia in the face. The whole bar stood still watching as the smack resonated throughout the air, and even the current dancer on stage had stopped to watch as the music slowed down and came to a staggering halt. The blond breathed heavily in and out, surprised by his own anger, but maintaining a threatening front to let his boss know that he meant it this time.

"Why are you doing this to me? What the hell is your problem?" he shouted at his boss, not really caring if anyone was watching now.

"Because I love you," Marluxia whispered back, though Roxas could hear him. And he had figured this for quite some time, though he had been waiting for a confession to confirm his suspicions. Pausing for a moment, the pink haired man had actually let his guard down and told him, so he knew now that he had to be gentle in letting him down. After all, with that much feeling behind his confession…

Though he didn't get a chance to finish his current thought before he felt hot lips press against his, Marluxia nearly forcing his tongue down Roxas's throat. As he tried to deepen this sloppy kiss Roxas felt his anger and any sympathy he had for the man die as he pushed him away, their lips and bodies disconnecting as the pink haired man staggered backward.

"**I'm in love with somebody. Found someone who completes me. I'm in love with somebody. Oh yeah, and it's not you!"** Roxas's voice grew angrier with each new word, sick and tired of Marluxia's unwanted advances. He immediately turned on his heels in the opposite direction, storming across the wooden floor of the bar.

"Roxas, wait," the pink-haired man said, beginning to walk quickly behind him, to which the blond turned his head to face him, an angry glare displayed across his face. Noticing his boss following him he huffed in frustration and turned himself around, though he did not moving an inch forward. Instead he lifted one of his hands, his pointer finger up in an attempt to get him to stop. **"Read my finger, what you gonna do?"**

"Let's talk about this, doll."

Of course, at the pet name Roxas just rolled his eyes. **"See these lips are all done talking to you."**

Marluxia motioned forward again and opened his mouth to speak, only to be interrupted by the angry blond. **"I don't mean to bruise your ego, but I've had you nailed down for so long, and I don't see your name on my tattoo."**

"We can work this out, c'mon," Marluxia finally said after a pause, thinking about his words and calculating his every move. "Let's go to the bar and get you a drink and well sit down and chat and…"

Again, he was interrupted. **"Hope you understand…"**

"What?" he shot back right away, sounding rather annoyed.

"**It's been a long time coming. It's for the best,"** to which Roxas shrugged and turned back around to leave, **"no offense, I'm in love with somebody. Found someone who completes me. I'm in love with somebody."**

"**Oh yeah?"** Marluxia challenged.

"**Oh yeah, and it's not you!"**

He once again turned to move towards the door, only this time before he took a single step in the other direction his wrist was firmly grabbed by the taller, a menacing glare thrown at the smaller. He gulped, feeling a bit intimidated by the hard look in his boss's eyes and the strong grip that held him in place, but he didn't abandon his former confidence and aggravation.

"**I know who you think you are,"** Roxas raised his voice, forcefully pulling his wrist away from Marluxia's grasp, succeeding in separating the contact. **"Sorry I turned you on, but I'm kissing you off."** Gesturing to the bar, he took into account all of the times that Marluxia had tried to sate him and talk things over using alcohol. **"Your lines are whiskey and cigarettes; they're not enough to make me forget I've got someone who has raised the bar."**

"**I've heard it all before; stop spinning your wheels. I'll show you the door**," he put a hand on Marluxia's shoulder, feigning sympathy, **"no hard feelings. I'm in love with somebody. Found someone who completes me. I'm in love with somebody."**

"**Oh yeah?"**

"**Oh yeah,"** Roxas smiled back, pushing his boss back from his shoulder, **"and it's not you!"**

Of course, at all of this Marluxia looked fairly dejected and fuming beyond words. Roxas felt a bit sorry for him, if only a little, with all he had to put up with since the beginning**. "You've probably never been shot down before,"** he pointed to him, trying to maintain the look of assertion he had earlier, yet perhaps sound a bit kinder. **"You've probably never been shot down before, so I'll try and make it easier."**

With that, he turned to leave for the final time, getting all the way from where he had been standing and shouting at his former boss. There was no one stopping him this time; his former boss was pretty floored at what was happening and just stood there, a mixture of shock, anger, and disappointment splayed across his face. No one grabbed his wrist, no one said anything to make him stay as he stormed out.

Of course, he stopped once actually reaching the door when he was face-to-face with the redhead. Axel had had one foot out the door when all of it started, but once Roxas began furiously protesting he stopped to watch. At first there was an awkwardness between the two as they gave blank looks to each other, neither knowing where to begin.

But once Axel cracked a smile, his lips curving upward to form a rather happy, thankful grin, and Roxas couldn't help but smile back at him, his eyes closing as he let out a chuckle. Of course, before he could officially leave, he needed to make sure that his stubborn boss understood him.

"**I'm in love with somebody,"** he smiled, grabbing hold of Axel's hand, entwining their fingers, **"Found someone who completes me."** He squeezed the others hand, and felt his heart jump when the taller squeezed back. **"I'm in love with somebody, oh yeah."**

"**Oh yeah,"** Axel whispered.

"**And,"** he turned his head back to Marluxia, **"it's not you!"**

At that, Roxas took Axel with him and bolted out the door. Once out the door he yelled back over his shoulder; though he was sure Marluxia couldn't hear him, it felt good to just say it, **"It's not you!"**

And then he broke into a sprint, his sneakers scratching against the loose gravel as he felt himself his feet carry him further and further away. He was dragging the redhead behind him, and he could feel himself laughing wildly, the feeling of freedom and finally obtaining what he had wanted for so long fueling him and pushing him forward. Axel was laughing too, letting out breathy chuckles as he kept up with the other's fast pace. Although he wasn't too sure at what the blond was laughing about, he had a feeling they were somewhat the same.

Roxas suddenly dropped his hand and skidded to a halt. He looked back at the club, which was now a good ways away yet still in sight, and smirked at it. **"It's not you,"** he screamed, throwing his arm into the air to gesture his relief and happiness, **" yeah!"**

As the cold night air stabbed at him, pierced his lungs as he finally allowed himself to suck in air, he still let out a string of laughs, Axel watching him from a few feet away, his breath finally starting to slow down. He stared as the blond buckled over, laughing and choking for breath. But Roxas was just so godamn happy at the moment and he really couldn't have cared less.

Finally, after his breath caught back up with him he stood up to face the redhead, the moonlight hitting his frame in a way that made half of him glow while the other half was shrouded in darkness as he stood to the side. A grin on his face, he kicked the gravel below him casually, turning to face Axel as he did. When the light from the moon revealed him in his entirety, Axel couldn't help but let out a gasp.

"I'm in love with somebody," Roxas whispered, walking towards the redhead slowly.

Axel looked down to the ground, his previous smile turning into a small frown. With his past looming over him he felt too soiled, too dirty to even be looking at the blond. "I'm not an angel."

"Found someone who completes me," Roxas was now standing so close, his body nearly touching the redheads. He slowly brought his hand into Axel's and grasped it gently, entwining their fingers together as he did earlier.

"I'm not an angel, I'm not an angel," Axel repeated in low whispers, a tear almost falling from his eyes as the blond pressed their foreheads together. He closed his eyes, hoping this wasn't too good to be true.

"I'm in love with somebody," Roxas repeated, squeezing Axel's hand in his, letting the other know that this was real and that there would be no more running. When the redhead opened his eyes he was looking straight into the blond's big blue orbs, filled with love and emotion, with a smile to match it. The space between their lips was small and growing even smaller, their noses touching now as the mere centimeters between them slowly melted away.

And with the kiss that they shared a fire was lit, the first few seconds a gentle press that barely either of them could feel and then evolving into something slow and passionate and beautiful. Soft sucking noises came from their mouths as one slid his tongue against the other's bottom lip, who it was neither were really sure because they were so focused on the moment that who started what seemed insignificant and so small. They opened up to one another, letting their tongues touch as Roxas let out a soft moan.

Parting for air a small strand of saliva that broke in seconds was the only evidence of what they had just shared, but they were just happy to be together. Even though their lips were no longer pressed together and their bodies pressed flush against each other at the moment would soon separate, they knew that leaving the other now would never happened. Although their bodies had shared that night of passion they hadn't become one until now, their hearts fully committed and ready to start their new life together.

Foreheads against each others just as before they smiled and shared another small peck, and then a second before breaking apart. Hands still entwined they walked together side-by-side in the darkness of the night, smiling and letting out small laughs when comparing what had happened between them in the past. They all seemed like such distant memories now.

But then they stopped again, after only taking a few steps. At that moment they both faced the crossroad in their lives that they knew they would eventually come to, and while Axel took his deep breath and was ready to plunge headfirst, Roxas stayed put for just a second more as he let his mind catch up and process all that had happened. From that moment when he was barely an adult to right now, he had to stop and think and wonder what the future would hold and whether this would all be worth it at the very end.

Looking up to Axel he noticed how the redhead's eyes were focused on him, waiting for the shorter to take the next step. _"Yes,"_ he thought at that moment. He couldn't remember a moment in his life when he was so happy just by looking into someone's eyes. It made him feel at peace. He was so deeply and madly in love with the redhead, and although they had had a painful journey together up to this point, there being together now had been well worth the struggle. Squeezing the taller's hand he smiled, and the two ran off into the night together, not caring of consequences, just happy to finally have each other.

He had seen it all, his happiness, in those eyes.

Those brilliant, sparkling emeralds.

That familiar taste of poison.

**END**

**-HOLY FUCK. It's finished. Done. No more. And it feels fucking brilliant.**

**This little adventure was actually all I had ever hoped for a year and half ago before I even posted this thing when it was just a little itty bitty thought that popped into my head. I am so happy with how it turned out and I don't care how many reviews I get or how I feel in the future because right now at this moment I. Feel. Awesome.**

**I mean, I haven't finished a LONG fic since Freak on a Leash! **

**Haha, well I hope you all did enjoy reading this as much as I did writing. Even though I tend to talk too much and take hella long updating and you probably wanted to hold a gun to my head saying, "WRITE IT NOW OR I BLOW YOUR FUCKING BRAINS OUT, WHOREBAG!"**

**Ugh, I'm swearing a lot. I get that way when I'm excited. Stupid potty mouth.**

**Well, I'll finally switch this to complete then. Many thanks to everyone who has read since the beginning and all who read in the future, especially the former. Without you few folks I would not have had the motivation to finish this thing, and I am so grateful for your reviews and encouragement. **

**So for the last time for this one, read and review, over and out! -Nibzo-**


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